By Alon Bernstein and Jack Jeffery, AP
An Israeli defense contractor on Monday unveiled a remote-controlled armed robot it says can patrol battle zones, track infiltrators and open fire. The unmanned vehicle is the latest addition to the world of drone technology, which is rapidly reshaping the modern battlefield.
Proponents say such semi-autonomous machines allow armies to protect their soldiers, while critics fear this marks another dangerous step toward robots making life-or-death decisions.
The four-wheel-drive robot presented Monday was developed by the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries’ “REX MKII.”
It is operated by an electronic tablet and can be equipped with two machine guns, cameras and sensors, said Rani Avni, deputy head of the company’s autonomous systems division. The robot can gather intelligence for ground troops, carry injured soldiers and supplies in and out of battle, and strike nearby targets.
It is the most advanced of more than half a dozen unmanned vehicles developed by Aerospace Industries’ subsidiary, ELTA Systems, over the past 15 years.
The Israeli military is currently using a smaller but similar vehicle called the Jaguar to patrol the border with the Gaza Strip and help enforce a blockade Israel imposed in 2007, after the tiny territory was seized by the Islamic militant group Hamas.
Gaza is home to 2 million Palestinians who have largely been locked in by the blockade, which is also supported to some extent by Egypt. The border area is the site of frequent protests and occasional attempts by Palestinian militants or desperate laborers to infiltrate into Israel.
According to the Israeli army’s website, the semi-autonomous Jaguar is equipped with a machine gun and was designed to reduce soldiers’ exposure to the dangers of patrolling the volatile Gaza-Israel border. It is one of many tools, including drones armed with guided missiles, that have given the Israeli military vast technological superiority over Hamas.
Unmanned ground vehicles are being increasingly used by other armies, including those of the United States, Britain and Russia. Their tasks include logistical support, the removal of mines and firing weapons.
The tablet can control the vehicle manually. But many of its functions, including its movement and surveillance system, can also run autonomously.
“With every mission, the device collects more data which it then learns from for future missions,” said Yonni Gedj, an operational expert in the company’s robotics division.
Critics have raised concerns that robotic weapons could decide on their own, perhaps erroneously, to shoot targets. The company says such capabilities exist but are not being offered to customers.
“It is possible to make the weapon itself also autonomous, however, it is a decision of the user today,” Avni said. “The maturity of the system or the user is not there yet.”
Bonnie Docherty, a senior researcher from the arms division of Human Rights Watch, said such weapons are worrisome because they can’t be trusted to distinguish between combatants and civilians or make proper calls about the harm attacks may do to nearby civilians.
“Machines cannot understand the value of human life, which in essence undermines human dignity and violates human rights laws,” Docherty said. In a 2012 report, Docherty, a lecturer at Harvard Law School, called for fully automated weapons to be banned by international law.
The defense magazine Janes said the development of autonomous ground vehicles has lagged behind autonomous aircraft and boats because moving across land is far more complex than navigating water or air. Unlike the open ocean, vehicles have to deal with “holes in the road” and know exactly how much force to apply to overcome a physical obstacle, the report said.
The technology in self-driving vehicles also has raised concerns. Electric car manufacturer Tesla, among other companies, has been connected to a series of fatal accidents, including an incident in Arizona in 2018 when a woman was hit by a car driving on autopilot.
The Israeli drone vehicle is being showcased at this week’s Defense and Security System International arms trade show in London.
Sounds like a robot vacuum with a gun.
Boomba Roomba.
That’s swell….never give up land for “peace”. Lying to non mooselims is part & parcels of their religion. Duh.
Sky-Net
In other news: Biden administration contacts Israeli company, Aerospace Industries, to procure millions of autonomous armed robotic vehicles to be programmed to identify and eliminate unvaccinated people in the U.S.
/satire
Insert John Cena meme here
Satire my ass!
Biden probably called his new buddy and offered some ice cream for a few robots LOL
You know got to protect the vaccinated against the unvaccinated!
Unless the unvaccinated are immigrants, then the machine like our current government will give them a pass to continue on their way…
It not necessary these morons are eliminating themselves and the Republicans are encouraging their own constituents (them) to wipe themselves out with the virus. Again a Conservative is always his own worst enemy.
You don’t have to tell us how to respond. We’re a quick study.
Killbot: Show me your vaccine passport. You have 10 seconds to comply!
Subject: I left it in the car.
Killbot: 9,8,7…
Will it stop a horde of Aliens from rushing the barricade?
I so wanted them to call this the T-100!
Yup it’s a quad with guns on it.
They should call the wireless network skynet!
These are basically big oversized RC cars with pew pews.
Perfectly suited to help cover large areas, and let real soldiers focus on other things, and it can go in first if there are IED’s or other threats.
I wish we had these wide spread.
Your tax dollars at work.
Can we have them too? Why do we have open borders and Israel doesn’t?
We’re not allowed to notice and we’re definitely not allowed to question.
To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.
I, for one, welcome our robot overlords.
Once everyone has robots we can all have robot battles where nobody dies, we just destroy tech until the country becomes poverty stricken and in massive financial debt.
Worldwide game of battle bots.
Kent Brockman out.
EMP hardened? Not if made by the lowest bidder.
WRONG. It’ll just be the same “disarm the peasantry” drive, but at a higher tech level.
I say they make a bi pedal one with an armored exo skeleton and for some reason, steel teeth that creepily smile.
Look up the Fire Fly drone they are already using. Single soldier control, deployed from their ruck sack, can track and kill targets on command or automatically. Day and night use. They have been using them with success for a while.
https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2020/05/05/israel-acquires-firefly-loitering-munition-for-close-combat/
Finally a worthwhile post, instead of all the mindless clowning around.
“you’re fired.”
“thankyou.”
Does it take Glock mags?
U.S. law enforcement will be ordering many of these. One machine will replace 100 cops which will be a good thing.
It will be found on blocks with the weapons and engine stolen within an hour of deployment.
This is why God gave us Barrett .50 BMG rifles and armor piercing incindiary rounds.
On the other hand, there are no problems in Gaza that could not be resolved with a few hundred Neutron Bombs.
In the Middle East they’ll just use the ubiquitous RPG-7. Or a buried IED.
“God gave” them? Unfortunately, Mr. Browning was entirely of the mortal realm.
Arizona: The Homeless lady crossing an unlit 4-lane street away from the intersection was struck by an Uber Volvo, not a Tesla.
I hate to mention it but there have been autonomous devices out there for over a century, capable of killing someone without human input. They are called land mines.
The silent sentry. Keeps on killing long after the war is over.
Parts of France are no-go zones due to mines and unexploded ordinance, including artillery shells full of high explosives or poison gas—from World War I.
I’ve seen documentaries about the “grim harvest” of northern France. Hundreds of EOD people have died since the war.
This is what I mentioned earlier in a past posting.
What is war going to become when the human factor is eliminated?
If it can be controlled remotely, it could be potentially hacked and controlled remotely by somebody else. Though it would probably be easier just to jam the signal controlling it and then take the spark plugs out of the thing.
Is this the Mark 1 BOLO?
Coming to EveryTown.
So if it uses violence unlawfully, who goes to prison?
I assume the person who is operating it.
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