639 bot sees action in Iraq

[Gabriel]

come to think of it, FIRST robots could be useful in Iraq, there are plenty of FIRST robots made up of enough 1/4" plate to armor a humvee...

[Eria4044]

Originally Posted by Gabriel

come to think of it, FIRST robots could be useful in Iraq, there are plenty of FIRST robots made up of enough 1/4" plate to armor a humvee...

But I doubt any FIRST robot could survive a combat situation there. And if they're doing simple stuff like light bulbs then why buy them for 2 million? A soldier doesn't make that much in his entire life.

[GateRunner]

Spam's "SAM" has been over there since the end of competition last year. sadly, with no air threat to speak of, SAM (Surface to Air Meat) has had little to do save charge his pneumatics.

[dhitchco]

From the original thread posted on 9/26/04, I now add the following thoughts:

1) Look at the original photo AGAIN. The BIGGER tank is actually our rookie robot coming after yours (ha, ha). Oh, ok that's not part of "gracious professionalism....."

2) Since I work for a military contractor, so thoughts about what makes a FIRST robot different than a military robot:

---In the military, the robots are called UGVs (unmanned ground vehicles) and are used for cave exploration, urban combat in buildings, etc.

---In FIRST, you know exactly what the "battlefield" looks like; UGVs don't have that luxury and have to "feel" their way along uncharted territory. Glad you don't have to do that programming?

---In FIRST, you know exactly who and where your "enemy" is. Combat UGVs don't have that luxury. Anything can happen at any time.

---In FIRST, your robot can't be offensively "shot at". In a combat UGV, the vehicle has to be both offensive and defensive. Weighs a lot more than 100 lbs too.

---In FIRST, you have a predefined mission (grab & stack tetras). In a combat UGV, you may receive new instructions in real-time which changes the robot's mission

---In FIRST, nobody will be jamming your wireless radio transmission to the robot. In combat, you have to assume that you will be jammed.

---In FIRST, you have minimal feedback from the robot (feelers, touch plates, streaming video). In combat, your robot will indeed be OUT OF SIGHT all the time. Makes for a fun video gaming exercise.

Lastly, war robots and war in general is NOT fun. In FIRST, make sure you have FUN......and pray for the soldiers and robots that are fighting around the world for us.

[Eria4044]

So is it like the Mars rovers, where there's someone controlling them from mission control? I assume so. But do you have backup programming, and if so, what?

I'm pretty tired of this thread.

[Zippiot]

didn't we drop an emp bomb on iraq? that would permanently disable all electronics in a 200 mile range....so unless we rebuilt all of it there would be no good to light bulbs on the freeway. but considering that it is in action now i assume that the grid has been repaired.

[russell]

The only way you could possibly fit something with enough power to disable electronics for 200 miles into a case the size of a bomb (or the size of a plane for that matter) would be to use a nuke, and Im thinking I would have heard about that.

[h0x4r]

yea, take a look at this http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY.../1103ebom.html

[russell]

(There is, however, an effort to build a microwave weapon for controlling crowds; a person subjected to it definitely feels pain and is forced to retreat.)

That doesnt sound pleasant. Someone should call the ACLU on that one.

[h0x4r]

yea, maybe <.< >.> not sure, maybe some animal testing first....... o no, PETA is here, help!!!!

neways, y would they have that bot in Iraqi neways?

[Eria4044]

Originally Posted by russell

That doesnt sound pleasant. Someone should call the ACLU on that one.

The American Civil Rights Union? You mean it's in their interesets to keep riot control weapons limited to guns? That makes perfect sense.

*This message is not endorsed by PETA, the ACLU, the ASPCA, the U.S. Armed Forces, or KB Toys.

[Can't See Me]

I can't believe you guys are actually acting like the bot is actually over in Iraq...

[mtaman02]

my old team did that a couple of years ago put the picture of a robot in the fore / back ground of a picture and made a contest to see who can guess where the robot is (ex. ivory tower etc...)

[Eria4044]

Originally Posted by Can't See Me

I can't believe you guys are actually acting like the bot is actually over in Iraq...

What? It's not like they used photoshop or anything. And those SPAM pictures were totally credible.