Malfunction, Skynet Awakes, or Octoqsuid Overlords?

[Lemur]

When a robot cannon starts firing on its human masters, whom to smite? (http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/10/robot-cannon-ki.html)


https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/Lemurmania/gdf1fireA.jpg

Robot Cannon Kills 9, Wounds 14

By Noah Shachtman EmailOctober 18, 2007 | 11:00:00 AM

We're not used to thinking of them this way. But many advanced military weapons are essentially robotic -- picking targets out automatically, slewing into position, and waiting only for a human to pull the trigger. Most of the time. Once in a while, though, these machines start firing mysteriously on their own. The South African National Defence Force "is probing whether a software glitch led to an antiaircraft cannon malfunction that killed nine soldiers and seriously injured 14 others during a shooting exercise on Friday."


SA National Defence Force spokesman brigadier general Kwena Mangope says the cause of the malfunction is not yet known...

Media reports say the shooting exercise, using live ammunition, took place at the SA Army's Combat Training Centre, at Lohatlha, in the Northern Cape, as part of an annual force preparation endeavour.

Mangope told The Star that it “is assumed that there was a mechanical problem, which led to the accident. The gun, which was fully loaded, did not fire as it normally should have," he said. "It appears as though the gun, which is computerised, jammed before there was some sort of explosion, and then it opened fire uncontrollably, killing and injuring the soldiers."

Other reports have suggested a computer error might have been to blame. Defence pundit Helmoed-Römer Heitman told the Weekend Argus that if “the cause lay in computer error, the reason for the tragedy might never be found."

The anti-aircraft weapon, an Oerlikon GDF-005, is designed to use passive and active radar, as well as laser range finders, to lock on to "high-speed, low-flying aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and cruise missiles." In "automatic mode," the weapon feeds targeting data from the fire control unit straight to the pair of 35mm guns, and reloads on its own when its emptied its magazine.


Electronics engineer and defence company CEO Richard Young says he can't believe the incident was purely a mechanical fault. He says his company, C2I2, in the mid 1990s, was involved in two air defence artillery upgrade programmes, dubbed Projects Catchy and Dart.

During the shooting trials at Armscor's Alkantpan shooting range, “I personally saw a gun go out of control several times,” Young says. “They made a temporary rig consisting of two steel poles on each side of the weapon, with a rope in between to keep the weapon from swinging. The weapon eventually knocked the pol[e]s down.”

According to The Star, "a female artillery officer risked her life... in a desperate bid " to save members of her battery from the gun."


But the brave, as yet unnamed officer was unable to stop the wildly swinging computerised Swiss/German Oerlikon 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft twin-barrelled gun. It sprayed hundreds of high-explosive 0,5kg 35mm cannon shells around the five-gun firing position.

By the time the gun had emptied its twin 250-round auto-loader magazines, nine soldiers were dead and 11 injured.

[CrossLOPER]

How do I shot robo cannon?

[Crazed Rabbit]

:inquisitive:
Hmm. Apparently guns can kill people.

CR

[AntiochusIII]

Hmm. Apparently guns can kill people. :laugh4:

[Mikeus Caesar]

That's a stupid thread title, be sensible and realistic, there's no question about it - Octosquids. It's beginning.

We knew it first, but the world wouldn't listen. In the grim future of Octosquid 40k, there is only war. And the .org.

[Husar]

That's why we should always retain the option of just pulling the plug of our robots.

I'm just worried because octosquids have no plugs to pull.

[Lemur]

Well, it seems that the robotic army is advancing. Haven't these people seen The Matrix? 2001? Blade Runner? Any of a thousand B-grade SF movies in which the robots turn on their masters? Wake up, U.S. Army! (http://cbs3.com/topstories/robots.iraq.army.2.410518.html)

Robots Playing Larger Role in Iraq War
The sniper nests and IED-laced roads of Iraq have posed deadly challenges for the U.S. military. The result has been speedy development of soldiers that know nothing about fear or danger: the combat robot.

"It's a tremendous capability to put a robot where you do not want to put a man," said Jim Braden, of the Army's Joint Robotics Program.

Never before have robots played such a wide role in a ground war, reports CBS News correspondent Russ Mitchell. Five thousand robots are working alongside U.S. forces, finding booby traps or searching for the enemy.

"The real trend right now is the infantry and maneuver forces looking at, 'what can a robot do for me,'" said Braden.

That demand has forced technicians to improvise and use parts found on store shelves. Some robot monitors have been purchased at Radio Shack. Certain controllers are from video games.

The Pentagon plans to spend nearly $2 billion over the next five years on robots, ranging in size from a multi-ton minesweeper to tiny devices now used by Special Forces.

Robots in Iraq and Afghanistan have already disarmed nearly 10,000 IEDs. One of the most widely used is built by the same Massachusetts company that has sold millions of robotic vacuum cleaners to American consumers.

IRobot is now one of the chief suppliers of robots to the U.S. military. Their devices have grown in size too, like the Warrior, shown exclusively to CBS News.

"This is a serious robot," said Russ Dyer of IRobot, referring to the Warrior. "This is a 250 pound robot that will be able to run a 4-minute mile."

The Warrior could be in Iraq by 2009, transporting ammunition or wounded soldiers. But another robot recently sent to Iraq is lethal.

It's called Swords and CBS News has learned three of these armed robots could see their first combat very soon. But the military insists it is not unleashing a mindless killing machine. A soldier must press the fire button.

"You need a man in the loop," said Braden. "There has to be a human deciding if there's going to be ordinance going downrange."

But the ability for robots to think for themselves - what designers call "autonomy" - may not be far away.

The Army is already testing supply robots that move across the battlefield without a human operator.

"It's what we call disruptive technology," said Dyer of IRobot. "It's going to change the way we fight, the way we live - it's going to change our entire lives."

[RoadKill]

We can always just turn them off.

[Spino]

Sounds awfully familiar doesn't it?

"Put down your weapon, you have 15 seconds to comply."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyJ4Kn_-6nw

https://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4174/ed209jp0.jpg

"SPARE PARTS FOR 20 YEARS, WHO CARES IF IT WORKS?"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ED-209

[Myrddraal]

And risk being hit by 250 high-explosive 0,5kg 35mm cannon shells as you reach for the switch/plug? This may be the turning point ladies and gentlement, prepare to accept our new octosquid overlords.

[Husar]

And risk being hit by 250 high-explosive 0,5kg 35mm cannon shells as you reach for the switch/plug? This may be the turning point ladies and gentlement, prepare to accept our new octosquid overlords.
It should suffice if all powerplant staff runs for the hills. ~D

[Lemur]

It's clear the the reporters at El Reg (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/30/reaper_first_kill/) are on the same page as us Orgahs. (What if the octosquids, robot overlords and zombies all combine their forces? Will anyone be safe?)

Reaper aerial killbot harvests its first fleshies

Hapless meatsacks slaughtered by flying mechanoid

By Lewis Page

The new MQ-9 Reaper airborne wardroid has mown down its first fleshies, according to the US Air Force.

The MQ-9, aka Predator-B, is a derivative of the original MQ-1 Predator drone aircraft, one of the first mechanoids to kill human beings. Famously, a CIA Predator blew away al-Qaeda bigwig Qa'ed Sunyan al-Harethi in 2002 after his cellphone turned traitor and squealed on him to its digital chums. A-model Predators have notched up a number of kills since then in the Wars on Stuff.

The old Predator was a fairly small and limited machine, originally intended to be no more than an eye in the sky. Its anti-human weaponry was added retrospectively. By contrast, the Predator-B was designed from the outset to hunt fleeing meatsacks and cut them down like corn. It is designated an "unmanned hunter/killer weapon system" by its human quislings in the US air force, and can be tooled up with a fearful array of guided Hellfire missiles, Paveway beam-riding bombs or autonomous smart weapons with their own satnav/inertial guidance.

Not for nothing have comparisons been made (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/10/the_flying_hk_are_coming_aiee/) with the remorseless airborne slaughter-droids seen in the dystopian future of the Terminator movies, employed by the ruling machine-intelligence overlord to harvest the last ragged human resistance fighters scuttling ratlike through the ruins of their civilisation.

Now the Reaper, recently deployed to Afghanistan, has begun its deadly work.

"According to Central Air Forces," the Air Force Times reported last night (http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/10/airforce_mq9_reaper_071029w/), "an MQ-9 fired a Hellfire missile at Afghanistan insurgents in the Deh Rawood region of the mountainous Oruzgan province. The strike was 'successful'..."

Nothing but the new electromagnetic pulse bomb technology can possibly save us now. Just pray that it comes in time.

[The Wizard]

Yeah, I heard the Reaper is helping us Dutchies in Operation Spin Ghar, and that its assistance is what turned the tables on the Taliban. I hope Skynet can wait until we're done with the old beards down in Uruzgan to unfold its plans :blank2:

Then again, we already had help from near-robots in the form of British Gurkhas, if the press it to be believed...

[Lemur]

Despite our warnings, and despite the obvious evidence that robots intend to kill us all and take our attractive women for unspeakable experiments, DARPA forges ahead. Nooooooo! (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071104-robotic-urban-warriors-pass-darpas-grand-challenge.html)

Robotic urban warriors pass DARPA's Grand Challenge

By John Timmer | Published: November 04, 2007

For nearly 50 years, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has funded scientific developments and promoted their adoption by the companies that supply military technology. For the last few years, the agency has been encouraging the development of automated vehicles through a series of Grand Challenges. The first two editions tested the ability of automated vehicles to navigate desert terrain, but this year's version raised the difficulty dramatically by changing the environment: the 2007 version was called the Urban Challenge.

DARPA's description of the obstacles sound a bit like a description of a typical commute to work: "They must obey traffic laws while merging into traffic, navigating traffic circles, negotiating busy intersections and avoiding obstacles." The competition rules, in fact, included a copy of the California Driver's Handbook. Instead of dropping carpoolers off at work, however, the vehicles were expected to run simulated supply missions that had them covering 60 miles in under six hours. As the Challenge's literature notes, "The urban setting adds considerable complexity to the challenge faced by the robotic vehicles, and replicates the environment in which many of today’s battlefield missions are conducted."

Given that no vehicles completed the first desert challenge, it's clear that experience has made a big difference for many of the teams. This time around, three teams finished within the allotted time. Computer science hotspot Carnegie Mellon's Tartan Racing took home $2 million for driving a Chevy Tahoe into first place. The Volkswagon Passat wagon of the Stanford Racing Team, winners of the second Desert Challenge, pocketed $1 million for second, while Team Victor Tango drove a Ford Escape Hybrid named Odin into the $500,000 third prize. According to Wired, all three vehicles averaged speeds in the low teens.

All of the vehicles were crammed with radar and laser sensors to detect their surroundings, used high-precision GPS sensors to figure out where they were, and they packed some serious hardware to support their AIs. For example, Stanford's vehicle used 64 lasers to create a 3D map of everything within a 65-meter radius, while using five radar sensors to track up to 32 individual obstacles at ranges of up to 200 meters; Carnegie Mellon's team put 300,000 lines of code into getting their Chevy around the course.

DARPA clearly foresees military uses for these vehicles, which is no surprise, given the military's successful use of unmanned aircraft. The fact that many of the Defense Department's recent casualties have come from bombs targeting manned vehicles has undoubtedly convinced DARPA that it is time to bring automated vehicles down to earth.

This is technology that will also attract an audience within the consumer automotive industry. Lexus is now selling a self-parking car, and many companies are testing sensors that let vehicles follow others closely at high speeds and brake safely when the car in front slows. The interest was also clear from the sponsorship; each team was sponsored by the manufacturer of the car it used, and two of the winners received money from equipment manufacturer Caterpillar.