Have You Seen the Military‘s ’Throwable Robots?’
- Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:10am by
Liz Klimas
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What was on the up-and-up at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Unmanned Systems North America convention? The question is more like, what’s on the up and coming back down? How about throwable robots.
Technology has made on-the-ground recon robots lighter and more durable, and the military announced Wednesday a $6 million purchase of throwable robots from ReconRobotics.
iRobot FirstLook weighs just five pounds and can be dropped onto concrete from 15 feet. (Photo: iRobot)
Popular Science was at the convention last week and described the benefits of “throwbots” compared to other robots in combat and emergency situations:
What soldiers in, say, Afghanistan really need is a robot intuitive enough that any soldier can pick up the controls, and something highly portable and easily deployable on a moment’s notice so it can quickly begin feeding real-time intelligence to mission commanders when threats emerge on short notice.
In short, they need a small, simple robot they can throw or launch over walls or into second-story windows, something that soldiers can control with handheld Xbox-like controls that come naturally to young men and women of a certain generation, something that can beam them back video and/or other information from a safe distance (and as stealthily as possible). And at AUVSI that need was being met with a smattering of little robots that company reps couldn’t wait to let us abuse.
Popular Science goes on to report that use of robots as the front line has grown in popularity during the last decade, but the first generation of these robots were complicated, heavy and required special training for use. Now, almost every company that does work with reconnaissance robotics, it states, is investing in making these lighter, more durable machines:
“One time we dropped it out of a helicopter from more than 100 feet,” one of the designers [told Popular Science]. “The worst that happened was that one wheel was slightly damaged so it wanted to drive a little wobbly. But it still rolled.”
Depending on the company, throwbots can range from five to 10 pounds and feature infrared technology, cameras and can seek out IEDs. Here are videos of just a few:
Dragon Runner 10 by QinetiQ:
FirstLook by iRobot:
The military announced Wednesday that it awarded ReconRobotics, an Edina, Minn., company, nearly $6 million to build its version of these throwbots. ReconRobotic’s Recon Scout XT weights a little more than a pound, can be deployed in five seconds and thrown up to 120 feet.
Watch this video to learn more about Recon Scout:
Popular Science reported earlier this year that throwbots are also being used by police and firefighters in the United States.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Comments (51)
Race
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 2:21pmAnyone stop to think that they might be used against YOU one day?
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 2:40pmIt did come to mind.
Report Post »V-Forge
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 8:02pmyes. electric lights were also used against us. along with refrigeration. gimme a break.
Report Post »Pujols
Posted on August 25, 2011 at 1:33pmV-FORGE is a robot. You dumb ass. These people are out of control. Are you going to live in a tree?
Report Post »If you do they will hook up a chain saw to it and cut you ass down. If they choose to. MORON!
docvet
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 2:19pmYou guys want to shoot everything. Just go low tech, walk over, pick it up and throw the thing out the nearest window, stick it in a closet or a drawer (and hope, like some have suggested, it doesn’t have explosive capibility). It already “saw” you, be somewhere else.
Report Post »NEAF
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 12:54pmMade in China? Just joking. But who knows! American ingenuity, the BEST.
Report Post »chazman
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 1:21pm… yeah, I want some! Hey man, shoot me a price on a gross of those, will ya?
And by the way, can they be detonated? Ya know, like little rolling land mines? I mean they ain’t gonna be of any use if my enemies can just reach down, pick it up and say, throw it in the toilet! I wanna be able to push a button and blow the bastard up!! Now thats technology!
Report Post »dr_funk
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 2:15pmRC-XD incoming! Aw F-*BOOM*
Report Post »southkakalak
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 3:53pmRc-xd lmao
Report Post »JLGunner
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 12:54pmKinda reminds me of my Evil Kenevel stunt cycle that I had as a kid. Man, that thing could take some abuse.
Report Post »VISITORNUMBER3
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 4:21pmHey, I had one of those, too !!! Good times !
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 12:50pmI could be wrong but I‘m pretty sure I remember Frankie Avalon using one of those devices to peek into Annette Funichello’s bedroom in one of those Beach Blanket movies.
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 12:47pmThis technology is old hat. Men have been using similar devices for decades in order to take a peek into women’s locker rooms and dormitory rooms.
Report Post »past guy
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 12:41pmAnyone who hears heavy metal music will know robots are coming. :)
PLEASE tell me these bots use data-encryption both ways! Otherwise the bad guys can either take control of the bot; OR hack the video and send false data; OR other problems. A sophisticated bad guy would use a small hand antenna to find the transmitter, then lob a greeting to the cluster of soldiers. (didn’t notice a range on the bots from the soldiers, or the length of battery life).
I agree with LeSellers. Why don’t the bad-guys just shoot the bot? It’s not like the bots are armed with C4 or a “22” and can fight back. Hmm… a mobile IED? An IED detector with an EMP to disarm IEDs? Wait! Once activated, a code is punched in to the bot, arming it so that IF it becomes inactive, it self destructs with the force of a small grenade.
Non military possibilities abound! Fire-fighter recon, drug-house recon, journalists‘ and similar voyeurs’ snooping (might need better cameras), and more!
Imagine a company figuring out how such bots could be used for monitoring home-bound folk. If a person has not had any contact for 24 hours, the bot remotely (or automatically) activates and searches (remotely/autonomously) for the person. When finished, it returns to the autodock/cradle to recharge. If the price on such a device was under $200, I bet you couldn’t make them fast enough for seniors (so they could stay in their homes). Hmm, might check up on the babysitter, too.
Report Post »Paul_ Revere
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 12:35pmpretty awsome I’ll take 100 of each.
Report Post »harumph
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 12:34pmGive me a Nano Hummingbird over the crawlers, anyday. Nice and quiet.
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 1:06pmDon’t laugh, I remember reading that the government funded tiny spy cams for honey bees. Now how they get them to go where they wanted them to, that I always wondered about.
Report Post »harumph
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 2:11pmNot laughing. I’m serious. I want one. They ROCK.
Report Post »countrysideflair
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 12:24pmNow all they need to do is add a small explosive charge to them. Drive it into a defended position and BOOM!
Report Post »searching for the Truth
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 12:21pmNow! That I’ll work.
Report Post »spadikam12
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 12:03pmkeep a self blasting technique with it otherwise china will make a copy.
Report Post »HogansHero
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 12:46pmProbably already are made in China.
Report Post »westcoastwacko
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:53amAll very cool. I have an idea for the irobot. How about mounting a bouncing betty AP mine in the center. When you locate a tango, release it and BOOM!!
Report Post »sensibleadult
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:45amWhy does godawful music have to accompany the first video? What’s the purpose? It’s amazing what trash people will listen to.
Report Post »salvawhoray
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 1:11pmI know what you mean, it even look like the robot was trying to run away from the music. lol
Report Post »dabbo
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:38amI’m not crazy about they way it falls down the steps….very noisy
HeII, even a Slinky can walk down stairs…..and they can do it alone or in pairs
Report Post »WASTEDROCKRANGER
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 12:31pmSome people are slinkeys… they don’t do much, but they are fun to watch fall down stairs
Report Post »clingingtogodandguns
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:38amCan‘t we just send Biden out looking for IED’s we can sure spare him.Save the bots save the bots send Biden.
Report Post »snidley-whiplash
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:33amSo as long as the Corporation of the United States is allowed to nominate and place in office the POUTS we will never escape their grasp.
Report Post »Le Sellers
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:31amNone of the “enemy” even tried to shoot it. They must know it’s a reconn device, and, in spite of what some people think, they’re not stupid.
Report Post »mike1956will
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:59amgood point…I think they need to include a small load of C-4 in the body of the robot so when they do shoot it they get a sweet surprise……
Report Post »grudgywoof
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:31amvery cool and would save lives. I would want one if I was on recon. Now when they come for my guns and throw one through my window I’ll know to shoot that little sucker.
Report Post »SREGN
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:31amWasn’t The Throwbots a Saturday morning cartoon show?
Report Post »ltb
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:28am“The military announced Wednesday that it awarded ReconRobotics, an Edina, Minn., company, nearly $6 million to build its version of these throwbots.”
—-
They probably cost $5+/- to make and the DoD will probably pay ReconRobotics $10,000+ per unit.
Report Post »THX-1138
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:25amAnyone watch The Terminator lately?
Report Post »OhioRifleman
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:23amI’ve seen this one on Discovery and Military Channel a few times (or similar robots), so it isn’t news to me, but it is good to see that the things are moving forward. Keeping our guys out of the line of fire during the recon and intel-gathering phases is always a good thing.
Report Post »jungle J
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:23amthe military industrial complex never wants war to end.
Report Post »grudgywoof
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:39amWithout war we would really have a bad unemployment situation. Isn’t it ironic that all we make in the US is stuff to kill people……Way to go GE! I liked the old days when we built washing machines, cars and the like but alas. Those who live by the sword die by the sword and our country is becoming the purveyor of swords. President Eisenhower said “beware of the industrial military complex” instead we have embraced it to our determent I fear.
Report Post »ProbIemSoIver
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:50amExactly. Another military contract to take more of your tax-dollars. Does this Defend us on our shores from Invaders? NO !!! Does this provide for THE COMMON DEFENSE ??? NO !!!! This is another OFFENSIVE weapon to terrorize the people of the Countries we invade, under the guise of looking for a small % of terrorists. We also claim we are “Spreading Democracy” while they are there.
Report Post »Think about this….. Turn the tables. Suppose for a moment we are not so powerful. Suppose 10 years ago 30 Americans went to Russia and attacked Moscow; killing thousands.
Russia says America is a hot bed for “Capitalist Terrorists”.
THEY INVADE, looking for these “terrorists” while claiming to be there also to help rescue us from Evil Capitalism. Suppose they are here for over a decade, with no deadline to leave. Suppose every month, they introduce a new technical “toy” to terrorize people with, and to perpetuate this Charade.
Would we be opposed ? Would we call them bullies ? wouldn’t we hate them ?
IRAQ with no WMDs and a 10 year war, should have been proof positive that these wars are nothing more than a criminal scheme to generate trillions of your tax dollars, to hand out to their friends, business partners, constituents and the global elite.
ProbIemSoIver
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 12:20pmThe most ironic thing is that they are making these for NWO dissidents; Americans who will not stand for a Global Court, Global law, One global Language, One global Currency, One global Government. These were not designed for middle-east terrorists.They are field testing them there.
Report Post »They will be used here in the states against NWO resistors like you and I.
Some of you might think I am a “conspiracy theorist”.
I consider those people very uneducated, and sadly naive. You can not think outside the Box. I know things like this happen, because I know history. I understand Human nature.
Our Government is gone !! It is now infiltrated by global criminals destroying us !! How much more evidence do you people need ?
We do have about 20-40 people in D.C. that are real American Patriots !!!
All of them are TEA PARTY !!! The TEA PARTY has delayed the Globalists agenda for sure. We need to fill the house, senate and oval office with TEA PARTY Patriots, and we can save our Country!
Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:17amThe robot may work, but I can just see that antenna snapping off right at the connector.
Report Post »Le Sellers
Posted on August 24, 2011 at 11:34amPerhaps, but it landed upside down a couple of times. Flexible antennae are not uncommon, and it seems to have been rather robust in the ads we see here.
Report Post »