Tag Archives: robots
Stopping killer robots
A pre-emptive ban is needed to halt the production of weapons capable of attacking targets without any human intervention. The UK government has said it has no plans to develop such technology. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22250664 Weapons with a degree of autonomy, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – commonly known as drones – are already widely used on the […]
Google head wants state-only drone use
Head of Google calls for civilian drone technology to be regulated, warning about privacy and security concerns. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22134898 Cheap miniature versions of the unmanned aircraft used by militaries could fall into the wrong (civilian) hands. “I’m not going to pass judgment on whether armies should exist, but I would prefer to not spread and democratise […]
Robot insects with group think
Scientists in the US have built and tested robotic ants that they say behave just like a real ant colony. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/21956795 The secret is in their ability to take cues from one another just like an insect swarm. By being programmed simply to move forward toward a target and avoid obstacles, the robot colony finds […]
US tries to rationalize drones strikes on citizens
Two of the Predator drones pointed lasers on the trucks to pinpoint the targets, while the larger Reapers took aim and fired. And for the first time since the Civil War, the United States government had carried out the deliberate killing of an American citizen as a wartime enemy and without a trial. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/world/middleeast/anwar-al-awlaki-a-us-citizen-in-americas-cross-hairs.html?hp&_r=0 Then […]
Robots get an internet-based brain
Robots get web-based brain. Called Rapyuta, the online “brain” describes objects robots encounter and can also carry out complicated computation on behalf of a robot. The Rapyuta database is part of the European Robo Earth project that began in 2011 with the hope of standardizing the way robots perceive the human world. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21714191 The system […]
Attorney General tells senator that drones could kill in US
The top US lawyer, Eric Holder, said that it was possible under “extraordinary circumstance”, like 9/11 or the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, that the president could authorize lethal military force inside US borders. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21695434 US Senator “alarmed” by how difficult it had been to get President Barack Obama’s administration to clearly define what […]
Airline pilot spots drones over NYC
A pilot with Alitalia told air traffic controllers at John F Kennedy airport he saw a drone about three miles (4.8km) from a runway on Monday.”We saw a drone, a drone aircraft,” the pilot can be heard saying in a recording of his conversation with air traffic controllers captured by LiveATC.net. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21674175
Drone swarms a new tactic for US
The report that swarms of American drones had swooped into remote areas, killing up to nine people, is new. Swarms? Perhaps that is why the US is not admitting to the attack due to new tactic of drone swarms. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/world/asia/us-disavows-2-drone-strikes-over-pakistan.html?hp In the early years of the drone campaign, the Pakistani Army falsely claimed responsibility for […]
US DARPA to deploy sea based drones
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said it needed to increase its airborne “surveillance and reconnaissance”. “Enabling small ships to launch and retrieve long-endurance UAVs on demand would greatly expand our situational awareness and our ability to quickly and flexibly engage in hotspots over land or water.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21653364 About 98% of the world’s […]
Robot future: Update
BigDog is one of a range of robots developed by Boston Dynamics. Its legs mimic an animal’s legs, and are able to absorb shock and recycle energy as the machine moves around. It can perform simple tasks and obey voice commands. “Robots are going to help you move your shopping, [VIDEO…] a robot can be […]
Dirty Babylon 