Upcoming Military Robot Could Feed on Dead Bodies
It could be a combination of 19th-century mechanics, 21st-century technology — and a 20th-century horror movie.
A Maryland company under contract to the Pentagon is working on a steam-powered robot that would fuel itself by gobbling up whatever organic material it can find — grass, wood, old furniture, even dead bodies.
Robotic Technology Inc.'s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot — that's right, "EATR" — "can find, ingest, and extract energy from biomass in the environment (and other organically-based energy sources), as well as use conventional and alternative fuels (such as gasoline, heavy fuel, kerosene, diesel, propane, coal, cooking oil, and solar) when suitable," reads the company's Web site.
That "biomass" and "other organically-based energy sources" wouldn't necessarily be limited to plant material — animal and human corpses contain plenty of energy, and they'd be plentiful in a war zone.
EATR will be powered by the Waste Heat Engine developed by Cyclone Power Technology of Pompano Beach, Fla., which uses an "external combustion chamber" burning up fuel to heat up water in a closed loop, generating electricity.
The advantages to the military are that the robot would be extremely flexible in fuel sources and could roam on its own for months, even years, without having to be refueled or serviced.
Upon the EATR platform, the Pentagon could build all sorts of things — a transport, an ambulance, a communications center, even a mobile gunship.
In press materials, Robotic Technology presents EATR as an essentially benign artificial creature that fills its belly through "foraging," despite the obvious military purpose.
Upcoming Military Robot Could Feed on Dead Bodies - Science News | Science & Technology | Technology News - FOXNews.com
rofl wtf...
I'll believe it when I see it. According to Tech shows I watched in the 90's we were all supposed to be wearing computer clothing by now. Yeah, that never happened.
" I'll believe it when I see it. According to Tech shows I watched in the 90's we were all supposed to be wearing computer clothing by now. Yeah, that never happened. "So you didn't see the clock then?
" @Keyser_Soze said:Gadgets like that get invented all the time. The same goes for computer clothing, but seeing these gadgets mass produced and used in very real life environments is a whole step away." I'll believe it when I see it. According to Tech shows I watched in the 90's we were all supposed to be wearing computer clothing by now. Yeah, that never happened. "So you didn't see the clock then?There was a clock recently invented (no bullshit, this is a real thing) that gets power by also being a flytrap, and digesting flies for energy.Scary fucking shit if you ask me, also the name? Fuck, now i know they just make up some random bullshit so the acronym is funky."
You can buy a flying car, but there are no mass produced ones, they're gimmicks.
" @The_A_Drain said:What I mean is that this seems viable at least as a technology for field tests, maybe not right now but in the near future. I mean, look at solar power, just because it's too expensive to do it on a huge scale would you call it a gimmick? The tech is there, no doubt about it, it's the cost that dictates when something will make it onto the mass market. Just because something isn't mass produced, and super expensive doesnt make it a gimmick." @Keyser_Soze said:Gadgets like that get invented all the time. The same goes for computer clothing, but seeing these gadgets mass produced and used in very real life environments is a whole step away.You can buy a flying car, but there are no mass produced ones, they're gimmicks. "" I'll believe it when I see it. According to Tech shows I watched in the 90's we were all supposed to be wearing computer clothing by now. Yeah, that never happened. "So you didn't see the clock then?There was a clock recently invented (no bullshit, this is a real thing) that gets power by also being a flytrap, and digesting flies for energy.Scary fucking shit if you ask me, also the name? Fuck, now i know they just make up some random bullshit so the acronym is funky."
What I mean is that this seems viable at least as a technology for field tests, maybe not right now but in the near future. I mean, look at solar power, just because it's too expensive to do it on a huge scale would you call it a gimmick? The tech is there, no doubt about it, it's the cost that dictates when something will make it onto the mass market. Just because something isn't mass produced, and super expensive doesnt make it a gimmick. "They promised me a network hub server in my underpants and well where is it? Where the fuck is it.
" "Wait . . . so they could possibly have the technology to create useabe fuel out of any type of organic substance . . . and their instinct is to make KILLER ROBOTS?
" Who needs Cthulhu when we have our own home-made monsters? This is a terrible concept. "Everyone needs Cthulhu, why do you think there are Cthulhu plushies. Shit, I need a Cthulhu plushie, but they're expensive.
" @The_A_Drain said:I would imagine it totally exists, but you can't afford one.What I mean is that this seems viable at least as a technology for field tests, maybe not right now but in the near future. I mean, look at solar power, just because it's too expensive to do it on a huge scale would you call it a gimmick? The tech is there, no doubt about it, it's the cost that dictates when something will make it onto the mass market. Just because something isn't mass produced, and super expensive doesnt make it a gimmick. "They promised me a network hub server in my underpants and well where is it? Where the fuck is it. "
" @Arkthemaniac: Because almost half the budget goes into military. Armies don't develop cars unless they can shoot rockets at the end. "And lasers. Rockets and Lasers.
" @Snipzor said:And sharks. Sharks, with lazers on their heads, and rockets attached to their fins." @Arkthemaniac: Because almost half the budget goes into military. Armies don't develop cars unless they can shoot rockets at the end. "And lasers. Rockets and Lasers. "
It's only a matter of time before somebody combines this with super-intelligent AI into our future robot overlords.
" @Video_Game_King said:Well, I don't. Then again, I live on the moon, and we have super-death rays capable of killing these necro-eating robots. And if that doesn't work, I have an anti-death ray, so I can do this." It's only a matter of time before somebody combines this with super-intelligent AI into our future robot overlords. "I for one welcome our super-intelligent robot overlords. "
Realistically this isn't as far fetched as it seems. Its just using various sources of bio energy. Its scary as shit, but its basically just doing a shittier version of what humans and animals do.
Of course the obvious fear here is if the robot is hungry and theres no dead corpses around, will it fucking murder people? Lets not give this any AI shall we?
Also I was assuming this was a pretty small thing, but it sounds like it was fairly big? As long as it has to be manually fueled by humans thats fine with me I suppose.
Hmm actually, theres probably no way this thing will ever exist outside of the United States secret military army. Can you imagine if your son goes off to some war somewhere, dies. But instead of getting to have a funeral for him when they bring his body back, they fed him to a robot instead. Id be pretty fucking pissed off.
In a small number, these would make a lot of sense in the PMC's.
Also how did this information get out? =P Military weapons are developed in super secret, theres no way this could be real?
DARPA is freaking crazy. they are also making robots that can detect heartbeats, imagine one of those freaking robots following you to have dinner.
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