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Saturday, January 02, 2016

US military shelves Google robot plan over 'noise concerns'

From The BBC

30 December 2015

The US army says it has mothballed plans to deploy a robot developed in conjunction with Google because it is "too loud". The Legged Squad Support System - referred to by some as "the big dog" – is capable of carrying 400lbs (181.4kg) of equipment over rugged terrain. But the US Marines now say its petrol-powered engine is too noisy for them to use in battle. Google has long said it planned to move away from its military contracts. The LS3 was developed by Boston Dynamics - a robotics firm acquired by Google in 2013 - as part of a tie-up with the Pentagon's research arm, the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa).

The robot can follow troops on foot through rugged terrain, carrying their gear. It can also interpret verbal and visual commands. However, after a major field trial in 2014, flaws in the robot also became apparent, according to Kyle Olson, a spokesman for the Marines' Warfighting Lab. "There was the challenge of seeing [its] potential... because of the limitations of the robot itself," he told Military.com. "They took it as it was: a loud robot that's going to give away their position." The machine, which has a gas-powered engine, is said to emit a lawnmower-like noise that would be unviable in combat situations. It is also thought to be difficult to repair. In response, Boston Dynamics did create a quieter, electric-powered alternative, called Spot. But despite successful trials in September 2015, the Marines have decided not to take it forward either. This, they said, was because Spot is smaller, can only carry up to 40lbs, and lacks the automation capacity of the LS3.

Google said as far back as 2013 that it planned to move away from its military contracts, which it inherited as part of its acquisition of the company. The tech firm has said it intends to develop robots for use in manufacturing and industry instead. Noel Sharkey, co-director of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics, told the BBC: "Spot ... lacks the autonomous operation of Big Dog, but that really is not so much of a problem and would not require a vast amount of research. The problem is that to take the extra steps need to upgrade the battery-driven Spot to the level of Big Dog could require a couple of years development or more and thus a new Darpa contract. So, what this looks like is a face saving statement by the Marine Corps to make it look like they are dumping Google/Boston Dynamics before they got dumped themselves."

[Interesting. It looks like the advent of military robotics isn’t just around the corner. Also interesting that, yet again, compact low noise power plants are the problem. I’m sure if someone can sort out decently powerful batteries they’d be raking in money faster than you could say – well, anything really. But of course there are plenty of applications where stealth isn’t so important. Maybe in the not too distant future we’ll have our parcels delivered by dog sized robots rather than drones?]

5 comments:

Stephen said...

*sigh*

What happened to the good ol' days of big guys with swords yelling and wacking away at each other?

(Speaking of, Bernard Cornwell's latest comes out this month. Heeheehehee.)

CyberKitten said...

The history of combat is basically that of putting increasing distance between combatants - drones and robots are taking this almost as far as it can go.

Did you catch any of The Last Kingdom on BBC America or some such? I thought it was very good. I couldn't compare it to the books as I haven't read any of them yet, but thought Uthred was a great character. I liked his friend too (although I can't remember his name). Was it Leofrich?

Stephen said...

:-/ Not yet. I'm afraid I can't answer as to what his friend's name might have been...he had quite a few of them, and most of them died. It's going to be released on DVD in a couple of days, though.

I've been watching season 3 of "The Vikings" on DVD, though distressingly my brand-new discs keep stalling in my player. Has that show ever snared your interest?

(I love me some Vikings. Just bought my first historical fiction for this year -- "Fin Gall". I say bought, but Amazon was "selling" kindle copies of it for ...zero. $0, that is, nothing. :-D)

CyberKitten said...

Haven't seen 'The Vikings' although it's getting a lot of positive comment. I think one of my friends liked it quite a bit.

The Vikings in general are a fascinating people. I might even be descended from them. The area where my father was born in S. Ireland was occupied by them in the 9th century (I think) and my family name means 'white haired' in Gaelic which is how blondes must have looked to the dark haired Celtic tribes.... So you never know.... [grin]

A 3 book 'blitz' on The Vikings will probably be on the horizon later in the year.

Stephen said...

The title of this book, Fin Gall, allegedly comes from the Irish term for the Vikings, and involved the color white in some way.

Oh, update! A shop was selling "The Last Kingdom" for $20, so I picked it up. Happy early birthday to me, heh. :-D