DARPA’s New Multi-Million Dollar “Terminator” Program
53 replies, posted
Thread music ([b]A MUST[/b], seriously, listen to it while you read this):
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXQTzJgU6qc[/media]
[quote][b]DARPA[/b] just put out a call for a robotics software/hardware research and development program called ARM, which [b]seeks to build a robot that can autonomously and skillfully grasp a number of objects using two arms and hands – including objects like [u]knives and pistols[/u][/b]. Disturbingly, [b]the brief states that the new robot hand and control software should be able to[/b] (and I quote), [b]“Hold an inert grenade with one hand, and pull the pin with the other hand” without the need for human control.[/b] And they plan to spend tens of millions of dollars on it over the course of 4 years.
As the project progresses, the teams working on software and hardware must reach milestones. [b]The robot should be able to: pick up and write with a pen; use pliers; unzip a duffle bag; drill a hole using a power tool; insert a key and unlock a door; and assemble an object from a kit of parts.[/b] Do you think this kind of sophistication would allow it to [i]shoot a gun[/i]? You may notice that we don’t talk much about military robots on this site – though we have a certain fondness for Boston Dynamics’ BigDog – but this development is fairly alarming. In the next section, note that “ball” is a euphemism for “grenade”:
[i]The software system must enable the GFE (Government Furnished Equipment; i.e. the robot) to perform the Challenge Tasks following a high-level script with no operator intervention. For example, the operator would issue a command such as “Throw Ball.” That command would in turn decompose into a sequence of lower-level tasks, such as “find ball,” “grasp ball,” “re-grasp ball, [b]cock arm[/b], and throw.”[/i]
Boston Dynamics was recently awarded $32 million to perfect BigDog. [b]Their bipedal humanoid PETMAN should be capable of performing the actions of a soldier in a hazmat suit – such as walking, running, and crawling.[/b] They claim that PETMAN will be used to test the durability of chemical warfare suits under a variety of stress tests. [b]Combine that with an upper body with two arms and hands capable of grasping and utilizing weaponry, designed specifically for military purposes, and you’re a stone’s throw away from a [u]Terminator-style robot[/u].[/b] Even if the robot isn’t bipedal (the document suggests the robot will drive on wheels) [B]it will be humanoid possessing a head, two arms, and sensitive hands.[/B]
Clearly there is a lot of room for improvement in the area of autonomous grasping, and DARPA has funded some very important research. If not for the “grenade clause” one could easily believe the new robot is intended mainly for explosives disposal. Unfortunately even if that is the case, [b]it seems inevitable that as robotics technology continues to advance, it will be increasingly used for military purposes. In reality, [u]when completed ARM will be just the tip of the iceberg[/u].[/b] Do we really want another technological arms race? Do we even have a choice? And am I crazy for thinking this is totally FUBAR? One wonders how foolish current military escapades will look in a few decades when solar panels have advanced to the point that they provide for most of our energy needs… oh, but wait, it’s about terrorism.[/quote]
Source: [url=http://www.plasticpals.com/?p=20631]Plastic Pals[/url]
Fuck 2012... this shit is really really, TRULY scary! :geno:
[img]http://alwaysnewmistakes.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/terminator.jpg[/img]
[b]OMFG THE END IS NIGH! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!![/b] :derp:
Fuck.
They should make the robots have an automatic kill switch in the crotch area so if they lose control they can just kick them in the "nads" and everything is ok.
f
We gon' die
Well, this was fun guys, but I'm getting off here. Enjoy the Robot Wars!
:suicide:
How do they manage to fund this while also working on Metal Gear?
[QUOTE=pyrofiliac;20045003]They should make the robots have an automatic kill switch in the crotch area so if they lose control they can just kick them in the "nads" and everything is ok.[/QUOTE]
But then they could never have hot steamy robo-sex.
And I'm guessing no employee have watch Terminator before working on this project?
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;20045060]How do they manage to fund this while also working on Metal Gear?[/QUOTE]
Johnny why do you always have awesome avatars kid
Okay guys, make sure to keep tabs on their weaknesses so we'll know how to beat them early.
[QUOTE=Boba_Fett;20045081]But then they could never have hot steamy robo-sex.[/QUOTE]
Man, sex robots could be infiltration units by then... IT'S A TRAP!
[editline]05:40PM[/editline]
I'm going to start stockpiling guns, automatic weapons and a shitload of ammo in my apartment. I suggest you guys do the same... :jihad: :tinfoil:
Gentlemen the future is nigh
[editline]08:53PM[/editline]
Wait could these guys be used as cheap labour?
[editline]08:53PM[/editline]
Wait could they be are version of geth?
[editline]08:54PM[/editline]
Wait have we mastered intersteller travel yet?
[editline]08:54PM[/editline]
Wait have we mastered intersteller travel yet?
[editline]08:54PM[/editline]
Wait have we made exosuits yet?
[editline]08:55PM[/editline]
No to the last three? Were fucked
And to think that as of today, somewhere in this world, exists a Real-life John Connor... and he/she doesn't even know that he/she's going to be such character!
[editline]05:57PM[/editline]
BTW, I wouldn't like to trust my life to a vegan pothead like Edward Furlong :v:
I think we should map out the brain and combine ourselves with robots, then move into space and make everyone join with us.
The borg have the right idea.
Nothing cooler than having Robot arms that will feed me grapes just to stab me in the back when I am not looking.
I swear to god, it's like DARPA has an unlimited budget to pull stuff out of science fiction movies and try to make it work.
Don't they ever watch the movies?
This can simply be avoided if we implement a sort of safety programming to prevent the machines from learning other things they weren't intended to learn.
It isn't like they will be hooked up to a supercomputer and become self-aware? OR WILL THEY?
[QUOTE=TAU!;20046100]This can simply be avoided if we implement a sort of safety programming to prevent the machines from learning other things they weren't intended to learn.[/QUOTE]
We can give them the 3 laws.
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;20045060]How do they manage to fund this while also working on Metal Gear?[/QUOTE]
Nanomachines, of course.
[QUOTE=TAU!;20046100]This can simply be avoided if we implement a sort of safety programming to prevent the machines from learning other things they weren't intended to learn.[/QUOTE]
That was the problem in the Terminator series. The robots didn't learn from the experiences around them, just what SkyNet told them. The T-800 in Terminator had his learning function reenabled by Sarah Connor, which allowed him to learn what it meant to be human and what emotions are. This continues in to the realm of robo-ethics. If something can learn and think independently, is it right to treat them like tools? If a robot is able to think and learn independently, then what right do we have to treat them as slaves. Its not different. Ever noticed that is the primary cause of robot uprisings in Science Fiction? Self-aware robots denied equal rights.
[editline]03:51PM[/editline]
[QUOTE=MR-X;20046375]It isn't like they will be hooked up to a supercomputer and become self-aware? OR WILL THEY?
We can give them the 3 laws.
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.[/QUOTE]
Issac Asimov and his laws need to fuck off. I hate them with a deep passion.
:suicide:
That's silly conclusion. Why would you invest millions of dollars into development of obviously very complex, expensive, and probably really vulnerable copy of human hand to shoot a gun, when you can make a simple arm with the gun included? Same goes with grenades - you can just embed a grenade launcher.
This research COULD be used for weapon platform development, but it's incredibly silly way to do it. It's like saying that they want to create a tank armor made of marshmallow. There is no real reason to do so.
[editline]11:07PM[/editline]
[QUOTE=Zeddy;20046556]
Issac Asimov and his laws need to fuck off. I hate them with a deep passion.[/QUOTE]
Why?
Its a serious blow against robo-ethics. Its automatically assuming that a robot will turn in to a killing machine without them.
If another biological species here on Earth were to evolve to the point it attained sentience, would it be ok to enslave them or force these laws on them? Would we halt their evolution before they attained sentience so they never reach it? Is that ethical at all? What about the Combine in Half-Life 2? They enslaved humanity, another sentient race. How is that better than enslaving sentient robots?
This is fucking disheartening
[QUOTE=wonkadonk;20047333]This is fucking disheartening[/QUOTE]
Why is it?
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