Garling Gauge

‘Terminator ‘ Robots Armed in America?

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T103 from ‘Terminator 3′ juxtaposed with a Talon SWAT/MP

See previous article: ‘Terminator’ Robots Armed in Iraq

Using Iraq war technology on the homefront

The infamous movie line “I’ll be back” just might turn into reality.

Military equipment tends to come home after a war or during a long war (driving a Jeep? a Hummer?) . But with the Bush administration creating an environment that will keep our soldiers in Iraq for years to come, the end of our current war is a long time coming.

The police don’t want to wait.

Thanks again to Noah Shachtman of Wired we now know that the same types of armed robots used in Iraq will soon be seen on American soil.

“Other than some R&D with the shotgun mount, we haven’t used it operationally,” Massachusetts State Police Trooper Mike Rogowski told Wired. “But they’re on the way. They’re coming,”

The same company that manufactures the armed robots used in Iraq are promoting the Talon SWAT/MP. According to their website:

TALON’s multi-mission family of robots now includes a robot specifically equipped for scenarios frequently encountered by police SWAT units and MPs in all branches of the military. TALON SWAT/MP can be configured with the following equipment:

• Multi-shot TASER™ electronic control device with laser-dot aiming.
• Loudspeaker and audio receiver for negotiations.
• Night vision and thermal cameras.
• Choice of weapons for lethal or less-than-lethal responses
- 40 mm grenade launcher - 2 rounds
- 12-gage shotgun - 5 rounds
- FN303 less-lethal launcher - 15 rounds

It seems these armed robots are not just for war anymore. Similar to the SWORDS robots used in Iraq, the Talon SWAT/MP is a hybrid radio-controlled bomb-disposal robot that the police are itching for:

In addition to the Massachusetts State Police, SWAT teams in Houston, San Francisco, and Lubbock, TX all have the robots, according to Foster-Miller spokesperson Cynthia Black. None of the team have armed the machines, so far. But Trooper Rogowski, for one, is extremely interested — especially in equipping the robot with a less-lethal weapon, like a three-shot Taser stun gun. “That would be phenomenal,” he says.

Would it really be phenomenal?

How would you would feel if, instead of police officers, armed robots patrolled the streets? Would the person controlling the robot be able to exercise the same judgment as an officer actually being there? How would armed robots change the way you act, change the way our society perceives the police?

Would armed robots make us safer?

Below is a fictional take on what this newest development might portend:

Tetra Vaal

While armed robots might eventually make our officers safer, at what cost would they be to our society?

However faulty, the human element is vital and irreplaceable. It is the price we continually pay for the type of society for which our forefathers fought and we must continually strive for.

Let’s keep robocop in the movies.

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“RoboCop” 1987 cyberpunk action movie image

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See previous article: ‘Terminator’ Robots Armed in Iraq

http://www.actuacine.net/Wallpapers/t3-3_1024.jpg
http://www.foster-miller.com/literature/documents/DS07%20015%20TalonSWAT.pdf

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