NationStates Jolt Archive


ARG (Advanced Remote Guidance) Soldier Developed (Q\A)

09-03-2004, 07:58
OOC: This is modern tech...... :roll:

Watertest plans to mass produce a ARG (Advanced Remote Guidance)called “Steel Soldier”

Robot soldiers manufactured to kill enemy troops have been designed for the Watertest Defense Department by a tiny Sicilian computer company named Essential Viewing, which is set to make millions from the deal.

Essential Viewing says the technology comes straight from the world of science fiction. Armies of robots are able to fight running battles, making human casualties, for the side possessing the technology, a thing of the past.

The images picked up by the robots will be instantaneously relayed back to military commanders who can then move the robot or order it to shoot at targets.

With current technology, which attempts to relay live video images between one side of the globe and the other, there is a significant delay – making it impossible for the military to use a robot “with vision” in the battlefield effectively.

However, with the Essential Viewing system there is effectively no delay: military commanders see exactly what the robot sees at exactly the same time.

“The transmission is truly live,” said Hardy. “Which means a person watching what the robot sees can make it interact with the environment around it. Using current technology, if a robot sees a target then the delay means that it is impossible for the military commander to make the robot follow it accurately or target it properly."

“With our technology, it is as if the military commander is in the battlefield himself. Our company, which has just 15 guys in Sicily, is the first to crack this technology and we are ahead of the world."

“Wars are becoming increasingly costly in political terms because of human casualties. Rising death tolls can even bring down governments. There has been a huge push to get technology to the stage where humans can be taken out of the frontline."

“Our technology means you can steer an unmanned tank, plane, boat or a robot on the frontline from a military base behind the lines or in another country. The intention is to create wars without humans.”

“We are taking part in a revolution in warfare,” he said. “This could make war much less likely as regimes which threaten us and our allies may see this as a deterrent as our armies will suffer very few casualties.”

Essential Viewing’s technology has already been tested in Watertest by the military driving a robot around Rome. Hardy said the robot looked like a multi-armed sophisticated bomb disposal vehicle, adding that the technology was down to “some very scary math’s”.

“This is the product of years of research,” he said. “We’ve been working on this for six years and have no close competitors.”

Armed robot vehicles could be dropped out of planes and left to roam enemy territory to scout for targets which they could attack themselves or pin-point them with lasers for bomber planes to take out.
“This will allow the military to use robots to do almost anything that a human can do on the battlefield,” said Hardy. “But the benefit will be that there will be no humans there.”

“The cost will not be cheap however, averaging at almost 7.5 million dollars per soldier. However, the technology can also be used for law enforcement, covert surveillance, recovering victims in natural disaster and tackling domestic terrorism.” said Hardy

“Right now we have only produced 7 robotic soldiers, but with enough funding from Watertest we could produce thousands every year……We are currently working on reverting a M1A3 to be remote controlled like this new soldier….”

OOC: The Pics, Stats, and Weapons will be included later depending on if I want to go with this idea or throw it in the trash.....Some comments would be apprecated.
12-03-2004, 04:53
BUMP for Q\A
Anarresa
12-03-2004, 04:57
what mechanisms do you use to propel the robot? They must be quite expensive to produce if the soldiers match their human counterparts
12-03-2004, 05:07
what mechanisms do you use to propel the robot? They must be quite expensive to produce if the soldiers match their human counterparts

The robots are very very expensive, averaging at almost 7.5 million dollars per soldier. The robots use a rechargeable powersource that connects to the legs, arms, helmet, and communication relays.

Hardy Isomave
Essential Viewing Founder
12-03-2004, 22:48
BUMP
Vexia
12-03-2004, 23:26
I see you too are entering the 21st Century with Mechanized Warfare. This could get interesting. Would you like to come to our later, 2nd Field Test if there is one? The First One is alreayd organized, but if you wish you can view our Battlemechs in action at a later date.
Crookfur
13-03-2004, 00:07
ooc:
Leaving asside the actual mechanics of the individual units, i don't actually see what the benefit here is over other real tiem operated UCAVsor other remotely piloted units, its not as if the tech to broadcast the amount of data for realtime video very quickly over even basic coms links doesn't exist (there was mention int he papers a few days ago about a system in testing that can send real time video over basic GSM networks...

Turning to the actualsoldier unit it depends on how you see the control mechanism working, like soemthing from a third person shooter or a full boddy control system with VR or perhaps a direct link (like Joe Haldeman's battle boys).

Of course the idea that you would let robots actively kill humans of thier own violation isn't exactly popular with us, the 3(or 4 or 5) Laws are there for a reason.
13-03-2004, 00:59
ooc:
Leaving asside the actual mechanics of the individual units, i don't actually see what the benefit here is over other real tiem operated UCAVsor other remotely piloted units, its not as if the tech to broadcast the amount of data for realtime video very quickly over even basic coms links doesn't exist (there was mention int he papers a few days ago about a system in testing that can send real time video over basic GSM networks...

Turning to the actualsoldier unit it depends on how you see the control mechanism working, like soemthing from a third person shooter or a full boddy control system with VR or perhaps a direct link (like Joe Haldeman's battle boys).

Of course the idea that you would let robots actively kill humans of thier own violation isn't exactly popular with us, the 3(or 4 or 5) Laws are there for a reason.

OOC: I'm not going to have a army of 500,000 robots invade someone :roll: , but I might have about 1,000 to be a kind of "scout" on the battlefield. The robot will be controlled by a actual soldier, and they will see the battlefield in 1st Person. Besides a UAV can kill human targets, why can't a robotic soldier?
Anarresa
13-03-2004, 01:21
The robots are very very expensive, averaging at almost 7.5 million dollars per soldier. The robots use a rechargeable powersource that connects to the legs, arms, helmet, and communication relays.

Hardy Isomave
Essential Viewing Founder

That still dosen't answer my question. Its what moves the unit, as in locamotion. It cirtenly isn't hydrolics, so what is it that reaplaces human muscles?
Crookfur
13-03-2004, 01:28
OOC:
It was just by reading one part of your post:

Armed robot vehicles could be dropped out of planes and left to roam enemy territory to scout for targets which they could attack themselves or pin-point them with lasers for bomber planes to take out.


I kind of got the idea that the units would be perhaps operating autonomously and be able to make a kill/no kill decision on thier own.

I realise that you are aiming for a remotely operated unit as opposed to a autonomous mechanism.

Reminds me of a book titled "the digital battlefeild" my parents got me years ago (before i actually understood anything of what it talked about) where is portrayed the futre of massed soviet conventional armour being destroyed by small lightweight remotely operated mobile missile platforms.

Of course there is also the film Toys...
Nianacio
13-03-2004, 01:43
OOC: Sounds interesting. :)
If I were making it, I wouldn't call it a robot, though. How about ARG (Advanced Remote Guidance) warrior? :D

It cirtenly isn't hydrolics, so what is it that reaplaces human muscles?Electroactive polymer rods and hinges?
Mapalgetia
13-03-2004, 01:50
Possibly a simple rotary->linear system would work (after all, muscles work the same way, there are just a lot of them).

There could be a number of small motors, each of which would have multiple drive shafts going to pistons like biceps, triceps, etc.

The drive shafts could be detached if movement was not necessary.
13-03-2004, 06:08
The robots are very very expensive, averaging at almost 7.5 million dollars per soldier. The robots use a rechargeable powersource that connects to the legs, arms, helmet, and communication relays.

Hardy Isomave
Essential Viewing Founder

That still dosen't answer my question. Its what moves the unit, as in locamotion. It cirtenly isn't hydrolics, so what is it that reaplaces human muscles?

The power source in the robots connect to several small motors by a series of wires and cables. The cables attach to various metal limbs, which work in unison to act like artificial muscles. The ARG can run up to 20 MPH constantly and perform many tasks that a real life soldier can accomplish.

Hardy Isomave
Essential Viewing Founder
13-03-2004, 06:35
BUMP
14-03-2004, 02:29
BUMP for more comments