Future robots without a robotics industry?

Popular Mechanics has a good article out on robots and their future. One interesting quote is from iRobot's CEO Colin Angle. He was speaking at the RoboBusiness Conference and said, quite rightly, “Are we sure we’re not just an adjunct to another industry?”

Also covered in the piece is the quiet retreat from Iraq of the armed SWORDS robot. This Talon product was designed to carry 240, 249 or 50-caliber machine guns, the M202 –A1 with a 6mm rocket launcher or the ubiquitous M16. It seems there were technical issues.

Update April 15: Sharon Weinberger, at Danger Room, has an update on "the quiet retreat".

Update April 16: Popular Mechanics clarification.

Sources: Popular Mechanics and DoD
Photo: U.S. Army

Firefighting robot - the update

My Father-in-Law came back from the war and joined the Fire Department. Mind you, Andy was in the RCN and definitely not a robot. Even he, however, would enjoy this story.

Robot watchers know QinetiQ's Foster-Miller as the makers of the Talon robot deployed with EOD teams in Iraq. Popular Mechanics, The Register and others are covering F-M's firefighting robot capability which has had a demo in London. The capability has three parts.

1. A fireproofed Talon robot with a thermal imaging camera searches the area looking for, in this case, acetylene tanks,
   
2. Debris and general damage can be moved about by the Brokk 90, and
3. The Black Max unit has the "hose" function.

While this may not be a new idea for robot use, The Engineer covered QinetiQ's activities in 2002, it may be one that is practically just around the corner.

Sources: See links

Military robots in mainstrean media, again

"Killer Robots from Silicon Valley" is the headline in Fortune Magazine. "Robotex, a Silicon Valley start-up, combines engineering skill and groundbreaking weaponry to create a new generation of soldiers."

Of course there's not much talk about this "new generation". We are expected to assume they're robots or, if we know about this, robot operators. The buzz is actually about a company called Robotex . It's built up like a Hollywood story. Young engineers and entrepreneurs have banded together to produce a robot armed with Atchisson Assault shotguns. Not shy, the Robotex guys take direct aim at the Foster Miller (QinetiQ) Talon robot which can be used as a weapons platform. What's the appeal? A $30,000 - $50,000 price tag. "(The Talon)... costs six times that amount. "Our system does all the same things as the Talon, weighs half as much, and costs a fraction""

Pictures in the Fortune article show two Robotex models. Neither is an "engineer" model. Are they as rugged as the Talon? You be the judge. We'll look forward to following this story.

Source: CNN Money / Fortune

Qinetiq Shares Climb as Military Robots Boost Profit

Qinetiq has been in the news lots these days. Was the British taxpayer ripped off when it was created? Are Qinetiq execs just too highly compensated?

That's the press. The market has seen large increases in North American sales of their Foster-Miller Talon Robot. The result has helped push up share prices.

Source: Bloomberg