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Robot Spiders, Dragonflies, Snakes to Aid Soldiers in War Zones

by Blake Besharian on May 10, 2008 at 08:52 AM



As if warfare weren't already creepy enough, BAE Systems, a British defense company, has released a promotional video of robotic spiders, dragonflies and snakes it is developing to aid soldiers in combat zones. The robotic creatures are being funded by a $38 million contract with the U.S. Army that is part of a massive, and costly, effort to modernize the weaponry of the armed forces. The robots will slither and crawl around corners, into caves, and through booby-trapped streets, sending images back to screens in a command center or to a screen mounted on a soldiers wrist.

The purpose is to "extend the warfighter's senses and reach, providing operational capabilities that would otherwise be costly, impossible, or deadly to achieve," says Joseph Mait, MAST cooperative agreement manager for the Army Research Laboratory.

Other remote controlled devices are in the works as well, such as the unmanned drones that are currently used for bombing raids and reconnaissance. The hope is that using these robots will cut down on the number of casualties suffered by U.S. forces, and possibly civilians, while improving the accuracy of missile attacks and raids. However the potential for misuse of these robots, such as spying on citizens or other governments, is straight out of some sci-fi movie.

In any case we hope we never see one of these little creatures on our windowsill. [Source: Daily Mail UK]

Tags: military

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