Tag Archives: combat robots
US nuclear command shake-up foreshadows possible event
Navy Vice Adm Timothy Giardina was removed from duty on 3 September, a US official said on Saturday. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24321395 Admiral Giardina was serving as the deputy in charge of the US Strategic Command, which oversees nuclear assets. He has not been arrested or charged as part of the inquiry, into possible use of counterfeit casino […]
FBI spends $3M for domestic drone deployment
US justice authorities are facing calls for new rules on drone surveillance after it was revealed the FBI has been deploying unmanned aircraft since 2006. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24294857 A report by the Department of Justice’s watchdog said the FBI has spent $3m (£1.9m) on drone deployment. The audit is the first time the full extent of drone […]
Military Industrial Complex unveils pilotless warplanes
Boeing has revealed that it has retrofitted retired fighter jets to turn them into drones. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24231077 It said that one of the Lockheed Martin F-16 made a first flight with an empty cockpit last week. It carried out a series of manoeuvres including a barrel roll and a “split S” – a move in which […]
US DOD allocates over 6 billion for autonomous robots
The US military budget ending Sept. 30 allocated $6.04 billion for autonomous aircraft and just $261 million for unmanned ground vehicles. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/science/military-lags-in-push-for-robotic-ground-vehicles.html?ref=us The gap, said John Arquilla, a military strategist at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., a research university operated by the Navy, is “particularly troubling because a large percentage of our casualties […]
US drone strike kills civilians in Afghanistan
Underscoring the continued threat to civilians in Afghanistan, a drone strike in an eastern province killed up to 16 people, Afghan officials said Sunday. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/09/world/asia/two-deadly-attacks-in-afghanistan.html?ref=world&_r=0 The drone strike occurred Saturday afternoon in the Watapur district of Kunar Province. Afghan officials said the drone was targeting four insurgents who were picked up along the road by […]
18th American drone strike in Pakistan tribal belt this year
A drone suspected of being American killed at least four militants early Saturday in an attack on a compound in the North Waziristan tribal district, near the border with Afghanistan, a Pakistani security official and local residents said. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/world/asia/drone-strike-kills-suspected-militants-in-pakistan.html?hp&_r=0 The drone fired missiles at a building and a nearby parked vehicle in a village close […]
Fuaed Abdo Ahmed, Colin Ferguson, brain chips and murder
An hours-long standoff at a Louisiana bank began around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday when a gunman — identified by police as 20-year-old Fuaed (FOO-od) Abdo Ahmed — took two women and a man captive at the Tensas State Bank branch in St. Joseph. One of his demands to authorities was that they get an implanted device […]
Drone killings escalate in Pakistan
There were more drone strikes in Pakistan last month than any month since January. Three missile strikes were carried out in Yemen in the last week alone. And after Secretary of State John Kerry told Pakistanis on Thursday that the United States was winding down the drone wars there, officials back in Washington quickly contradicted […]
UK funds advanced autonomous robotics research in Scotland
Two Scottish universities have been given more than £6m of UK government funding for research into robotics and autonomous systems. Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh will use the cash to develop a joint research centre in the capital. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-23332184 The centre will explore the potential of robots and autonomous systems across a broad […]
DARPA accelerates combat robot research with cash prize
A Pentagon-financed humanoid robot named Atlas made its first public appearance on Thursday. Some see Atlas’s unveiling as a giant step toward the long-anticipated age of humanoid robots. “A new species, Robo sapiens, are emerging,” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/12/science/modest-debut-of-atlas-may-foreshadow-age-of-robo-sapiens.html?pagewanted=1&hp The robot is equipped with both laser and stereo vision systems, as well as dexterous hands. The debut of […]
Drones lead western imperialism in Africa
Nearly every day, and sometimes twice daily, an unarmed American drone soars skyward from a secluded military airfield in Niger, starting a surveillance mission of 10 hours or more to track militants in neighboring Mali. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/world/africa/drones-in-niger-reflect-new-us-approach-in-terror-fight.html?pagewanted=1&ref=world The two MQ-9 Reapers that are based here stream live video and data from other sensors to American analysts […]
DARPA to create “super vision” contact lenses
Researchers have created contact lenses which bestow telescopic vision on their wearers. The lens research was being funded by Darpa, the research arm of the US military. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23142469 Polarising filters in the spectacles allow wearers to switch between normal and telescopic vision. Tiny aluminium mirrors scored with a specific pattern act as a magnifier as […]
FBI admits using drones over US
The FBI has used drones for surveillance in limited cases over US soil. The director, Robert Mueller, said the FBI was in the “initial stages” of developing drone policies. He said the agency had “very few” drones and had used them in “a very minimal way” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22976598 Mr Mueller described the drone use in testimony […]
EU agrees on drone surveillance program
Three European aerospace companies called on Europe to launch its own independent drone programme to equip armies across the continent. “European sovereignty and independence in the management of information and intelligence would be guaranteed while at the same time delivering a robust system resilient against cyber attacks,” Northrop Grumman signed a $1.7 billion (1 billion […]
West continues to kill Afghan women and children
The United Nations reports that a coalition airstrike killed three children in eastern Afghanistan. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/06/14/world/asia/ap-as-afghanistan.html?ref=world The United Nations Children’s Fund cited the alleged incident in a statement this week condemning a steep rise in child casualties. The statement said an aerial attack by international forces killed three children in the eastern province of Kunar this […]
Scientists try to spin drone use
Speakers at the TEDGlobal conference have been debating the positive use of drones in society. “There are tonnes of great uses for unmanned drones but we need a framework for robotic weapons as it puts too much power into too few hands,” “Increasingly combat drones are making lethal decisions about human beings.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22863447 In 2011 […]
Arms sales have “very high risk” of corruption?
The Congressional Research Service estimated last year that global arms exports had swelled to $85 billion. And several prominent criminal investigations have added to the pressure for change. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/business/report-aims-to-help-military-industry-fight-corruption.html?ref=us&_r=0 BAE Systems, Europe’s largest military contractor, agreed in 2010 to plead guilty to criminal charges in the United States and Britain related to billions of dollars […]
Cyborg testing on cockroaches
A project aimed at creating cyborg cockroaches is being launched at the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh. The insects are controlled via a mobile phone. The cyborg insect is created by attaching a backpack that communicates directly with neurons in the cockroach’s antennae. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22786371 The neurons convey information back to the insect’s brain using electricity. The […]
Mind controlled robots
Researchers have harnessed the power of thought to guide a remote-control helicopter through an obstacle course. The demonstration joins a growing number of attempts to translate the electrical patterns of thoughts into motions in the virtual and real world. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22764978 Those thoughts, such as that of making a fist with the left hand, are then […]
A russian billionaire, transhumanism and the Global Future Congress
Dmitry Itskov, 32, a Russian multimillionaire and former online media magnate, is investing into a project, called the 2045 Initiative, for the year he hopes it is completed, envisions the mass production of lifelike, low-cost avatars that can be uploaded with the contents of a human brain, complete with all the particulars of consciousness and […]
Dirty Babylon 