Father develops unmanned ground bots in memory of son's death in Iraq
By Ryan Block 
posted July 6th 2008 11:27PM
posted July 6th 2008 11:27PM
When Brian Hart's 20 year old son was killed in Iraq in 2003, the grief-stricken parent turned his anguish to engineering, founding Black-I Robotics to build unmanned ground vehicles for recon, explosives and hazard work, and most of the other stuff you see land-bots doing in dangerous situations. Of course, what makes Hart's story so powerful is also what gives it a certain irony -- after taking the government to task for leading the nation's under-equipped military into unnecessarily dangerous situations, he began taking on work as a defense contractor to develop a cheaper, more robust machine in the hopes of getting more soldiers out of harm's way. Last week Black-I secured another $800,000 contract from the gov's Technical Support Working Group, and has also been field-trialing their latest version of the Land Shark UGV for the past few months.[Via Physorg]
@A.C.E.R,
I hope you get run over by a drunk driver tomorrow you ungrateful cock. This country was made great by people who fought for our freedoms. Respect the people who fight to keep us safe at home.
If they can use a machine to disarm a bomb rather than a human, why not? The machine doesn't have a family that cares and needs it. Who cares if the war is stupid, or whatever you guys are complaining about. I think it's great that the guy is trying to invent something to help prevent more deaths.
man i just finished watching short circuit on blu ray like 5 minutes ago....this guys is making a johnny 5.....
I dont understand how the concept of an unjust war can elude so many people. Suddenly it is unpatriotic to question your leaders? This isnt the military where people follow orders and blindly trust their leaders.
This man is only treating a symptom of his son's death by removing the most hazardous jobs from war. But it does not address the cause that is a pointless war and more specifically a trigger happy leadership. That is not to say that his work isn't commendable (because it is), but in a way this kind of technology only encourages our country to be more belligerent.
Finally, supporting the troops and supporting the war are two completely independant and different things. I love and support every one of our servicemen and women overseas (and their families), but that doesn't change the fact that they should never have left home in the first place.
what's your solution, vote democrat? wow are you sure that's not too much effort?
Nobody here is talking about whether or not this war is just, we're just keen on saving lives, and I applaud Brian's efforts.
Oh don't get me wrong, any technology that can save our troops lives is great. I'm an engineer for a major defense contractor myself. Regardless of what you believe, our troops deserve the very best equipment - anything less than that would be unconscionable.
My comment was not in response to the article as much as a handful of the replies a couple posters recieved. There is a larger solution and it does involve voting, but it doesnt involve voting allong party lines. It involves voting for people not in bed with defense contractors, oil companies and other special interests and it involves voting for people who are prudent enough not to get swept up in factless patriotic emotions and warmongering. That is neither here-nor-there in this discussion really.
its not Irony its coincidental!
surely its causal
The day my freedom is threatened I'll be first in line to defend it. However, I won't be cowed into supporting the imperialistic ambitions of PNAC. Our troops aren't fighting for freedom, they're fighting for power.
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." ~ John Stuart Mill
I hardly believe you'll be "the first in line" to defend our nation when the time comes; actually, you'll either be crying underneath your bed or trying to sell our troops out while we're fighting for your freedom. Don't disrespect the troops, calling them things like "fucking zombies," unless you've got the balls to sign up.
Props to Mr. Hart for dedicating himself to the project, this is exactly the kind of R&D we need to be constantly advancing.
Hooah, Follow Me!
And by the way A.C.E.R, the bogeyman called, he said he'd be hiding in the closet tonight. You might want to check their first.
Your statement "I hardly believe you'll be "the first in line" to defend our nation when the time comes" proves my point that the Iraq war isn't about defending our nation because you acknowledged that the time hasn't come yet.
Our goal was to conquer the middle east piece by piece. If Iraq had submitted easily we would now be fabricating evidence for another war and would probably be electing another Republican to continue the process. Let's hope the tragedy ends with Iraq.
So now he builds a robot to help kill other people in Irak ? Why didn't he try to stop the war so both sides stop loosing people... I just hate this stupid war.
Sides? Irak?
If the army can stop bombs from killing loads of people, I think that might help end the 'war', which is really a counter-insurgency, not a war.
American soldiers are under-equipped??? With $1Tn in budget, you are hardly under--equipped!
"after taking the government to task for leading the nation's under-equipped military into unnecessarily dangerous situations"
Excuse me, didn't the young man know he was going into the military?
And under-equipped, what an ignorant comment. We've got the most advanced military on the planet. That's why we've lost a mere ~4000 troops compared the the 10's of thousands of enemy troops that have fallen.
Way to go, Engadget. Way to fall in with the other weak, spineless Americans.
As for me, I'm proud to be an American.
sigh, everytime i hear a story about our solders' death the more i hate Bush.
Why dont people see he is an idiot who needs to be put in jail along with the terrorists?
Anyone else notice this thing (appears) to have tires with air inside? Anyone see a problem with that?
yes.i do see the problem with that
Create a machine that makes murder even more disconnected from reality and lowers human worth even further?
That's a way to honor the death of your son.
Cool little bot, but just another toy to turn against us Maximum-Overdrive style once Skynet wakes up. Hopefully before that time arrives, we will find some peaceful uses for the little guy. Maybe as a runway inspector or medium cost security droid.
I have to admit, when I read the reason behind the invention of this unit, my heart sank. I'm a father too, and can imagine the tearful hours Mr. Hart must have spent soldering connections and measuring voltage, all the while clinging to the notion that he was going to save at least one more soldier's life from the needless death his son suffered. How very sad that any man should go through this, but at the same time, how commendable that he is trying to help those on the front line - the one's suffering blasts of steaming shrapnel for each stroke of their leader's pen.
Smart people know how to make a billion through manipulation and aggression. Bush, despite not being terribly bright himself, is surrounded by these types - the ones who have lulled the American (USA) public into a constant state of fear wherein they will surrender their rights to sustain an attack on an unseen enemy.
Really smart people know that they could do this too, but choose not to because they know the difference between right and wrong.
Unfortunately the latter are a tiny minority, and probably do not care to involve themselves with the idiocy that surrounds them. We can only hope one or two of this group step forward into a position of leadership and make some changes. It would be refreshing to see a person in Bush's position making decisions not entirely aimed at the benefit of his/her own clique.
I applaud Brian for his efforts. Unlike all of the politicians that speak out against this war, he is actually doing something to fix a problem. Nobody is for this war. But the people that believe we need to stay there realize that the Iraqi government is useless and weak. If we abandon the people now, civil war will break out, and thousands of innocent people will die from that. On that note, the US troops are not murdering civilians. sometimes they do die, but to say murder implies that we are doing it on purpose. I think that robots are a good thing in combat, because, call me a right wing nut, but I care about our soldiers' lives more than I do about the suicide bombers and terrorists.
call me a raving loony but i prefer a cheeseburger to a pencil shoved in my eye.
Thank you for building these robots. I hope this thread doesn't turn into a political yuk fest. I feel sorry for this guy, but sending your kid into a oil war where people are dying for a horrible cause (no, the war is no longer, and may have never been, about freedom)...is wrong. Our patriots server our country and I commend them with all my heart for doing that, but the reasons for war, and the absurb reasons for being still in it (reconstruction in Iraq = still war) are just wrong. Bash me if you will but that is the power of the internet, and I can express my opinion.
Sorry, edit: serving* our country. I hate this comment system.
Im pretty sure if you care about life more than the Oil War, then you are a LEFT WING nut. *rolls eyes* Republicans want to continue the war, not bring the troops home. Your kiddin yourself if you think they mean different.
It's a bomb disposal bot you moron
(that was a reply to all the people who are suggesting that this robot will be used to kill people/devalue human life.)
You americans are so worried about supporting your troops!!!
Can't you see the harm you are doing to those countries???
You are not the good guys. Neither them.
I think that in a war, both sides are bad.
War is a really bad thing. Can't you see that the other side of the war is also suffering as you??? Maybe suffering much more.
I so agree with you, here is the readers digest of the story.
Dumb son, thinks he is a patriot and goes to a stupid war he does not understand where people use real bullets trying to defend their invaded country. In the old days we called them Freedom Fighters, now they are called Terrorist
Son thinks he can make a lot of money doing what he does best, drinking beer, playing games and shooting some guns, he trained his skills on the Xbox you know.
Son gets killed....
Dad thinks let's kill more of them, but really make a toy for the army so that I can make some money, I mean everyone and their dog is making money off this war why should it not be me. Plus, let's spin son's death into it to get some free publicity and my 5 minutes of fame.
Shit if someone came to my country and was 'trying to install American style democracy' I too would be fighting. Thanks but no thanks.
Good grief people give your head a shake.
Dunno if people make profit of war. But I know Bush makes a lot of profit with that.
Good on you Mr. Hart!
I'm extremely proud to be an American and part of a military family history. Some folks don't understand what drives people to join the military. It's usually not money, it's usually PRIDE in their country. The military is a TOUGH way to make a living~ why would anyone want to do it for the money? No, we do it because we love our country and what it stands for.
Luckly for all Americans, we can say whatever we want about this country and it's leaders. If you think the military men and women are fools then that's your prerogative. Obviously YOU won't be one of the one's defending this country. It must suck to live in a country you're not proud of. Where else would you rather live???
I just can't understand how to be proud of killing people.
The same way you get angry of loosing a relative, they get angry of loosing their relatives.
Their blood is red. They feel pain. They feel sad.
They are human as you are human. I hope you are.
szamot, we can see that you're angry, but man those are some assinine comments you posted.
"Son thinks he can make a lot of money"~ do you have ANY idea what military pay is? Not much~ you can make more money at a safe job here at home.
"everyone and their dog is making money off this war "~I'm not, you're not, no one I know is.
"Plus, let's spin son's death into it to get some free publicity and my 5 minutes of fame." You are a sick fck, aren't you? Obviously you've never lost someone one and tried to find something positive from it.
Lucky for you, you're allowed, by the freedoms of the internet, to post such drivel. It must suck to be so angry all the time. It must suck to be you.
The problem with alot of the posters on this sight is they have been coddled all their lives and have never had to WORK for anything so they have no respect for those who are doers.
They have had a momma that wiped their nose and dried their eyes and told them that "it is all the governments fault, if only they would pay us more on welfare and give us more in food stamps".
Well the saying on the Vietnam Memorial says it all. Paraphrasing If you haven't been willing to die for it, you don't understand what it is worth.
Obviously what we really need is to make a bunch of these idiot "its all Bush's fault" peolpe walk the line for awhile and learn what its all about instead of walking every anti-war and gay rights movement lines.
I for one understand the underlying reason that this war was started and that was the threat of chemical/biological weapons being given/sold to terrorists to be used against others.
All of you whiney sniffly SOB's need to thank a vet for your right to be spineless cowards, because we are the one's that died so you could be that way.
The problem with alot of the posters on this sight is they have been coddled all their lives and have never had to WORK for anything so they have no respect for those who are doers.
They have had a momma that wiped their nose and dried their eyes and told them that "it is all the governments fault, if only they would pay us more on welfare and give us more in food stamps".
Well the saying on the Vietnam Memorial says it all. Paraphrasing If you haven't been willing to die for it, you don't understand what it is worth.
Obviously what we really need is to make a bunch of these idiot "its all Bush's fault" peolpe walk the line for awhile and learn what its all about instead of walking every anti-war and gay rights movement lines.
I for one understand the underlying reason that this war was started and that was the threat of chemical/biological weapons being given/sold to terrorists to be used against others.
All of you whiney sniffly SOB's need to thank a vet for your right to be spineless cowards, because we are the one's that died so you could be that way.
"Dumb son, thinks he is a patriot and goes to a stupid war he does not understand where people use real bullets trying to defend their invaded country. In the old days we called them Freedom Fighters, now they are called Terrorist". That is the biggest bunch of crap I have ever heard. they are not freedom fighters. they are not defending their country. They don't care who they kill. they are not targeting military bases. they are going after market centers, schools, and wherever else they can inflict the most harm. they don't care about the people at all. If they did they would not be doing what they are doing. they are the ones that are causing all the chaos there and stopping Iraq from becoming stable. How dare you compare their... "troops" to ours. I bet those people would much rather go back to the days of Saddam Hussein where women had no rights and you killed if you spoke out against him. Not to mention the gassing of thousands of his own people. Oh, but wait. I bet Bush had something to do with that too, right?
I understand where this father is coming from. I have many family members in the military, and my father died from agent orange exposure, but am I perfecting gas-mask technology? NO! Except that this happened and join the 1,000's of other family members in making OUR country a better place, not ensuring that our military has a few extra soldiers not being bothered by bomb disposal. Hey, maybe we can strap those bombs that these robots find to the backs of those soldiers. They could sing "proud to be an american", and run into crowded markets, bc that is where all the bad guys chillax!!!
With no more meat spawn to feed the war machine, this tool turns his hands to battle bots.