Autonomous sniper system combines Xbox 360 controller, .338 rifle for deadly drone action
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted April 17th 2009 10:23AM
posted April 17th 2009 10:23AM
You know how it is -- we're frightened and appalled by the thought of unmanned killing machines, but if they must exist we really, really want to play with one. The US Army's latest nightmarish deathcopter / awesome tech toy is a little something called the Autonomous Rotorcraft Sniper System (ARSS). Essentially a .338-caliber rifle mounted to the bottom of a Vigilante unmanned helicopter (though it could eventually be made to work on a Predator drone, for instance), this bad boy utilizes a modified Xbox 360 game controller for targeting while the vehicle itself stays put courtesy of its autopilot functions. Never again will your favorite sniper need to leave the comfort of his barracks! Airborne testing begins in July, with autonomy to come soon after that and a possible robot apocalypse estimated for Q4 2011.
It's interesting that you have these issues, some things a human just feels as wrong you know, only a robot would need to have it all laid out in numbers, get in touch with your inner moral child :)
Also mines are now outlawed, seems all countries had an understanding about them.
And most missiles are expensive and take a whole chain of command to launch.
And when they use artillery they make damn sure no journalist goes to check the results, also an indication that they know that wasn't nice. Same goes for bombs, there's always a nice filtering going on to not show what happens in reality when you throw them.
Plus you forgot the incendiary weapons, look up what a fuel bomb does, something the US tested in iraq, but do it at a time when your stomach is empty, but again it's not mentioned by journalist on special request, and ask yourself why that is.
@Wwhat
Mines are outlawed??!! So are chemical weapons, doesn't stop someone from using them. It's a freaking war, what are we going to do, arrest them?
Mines have to be fabricated, and and companies, like fiat (the car maker), that made them could no longer do that when they went out of vogue, so what stops their use it the lack of availability. (mind you many of those IED's could be called homemade mines I guess.)
Plus it seems to work pretty well with mustard gas for instance, seldomly used now.
omg, I want this so bad! even if it just shoots airsoft pellets, I have wanted this since my earliest memories!!
I always secretly hated and disrespected people too, but I'm managing to stay in control :)
I KNEW IT! Xbox LIVE is the precursor to Ender's Game.
If I was a senator or congressman or president or anybody with any opportunity to do so I'd immediately start writing a bill to outlaw this, for all, including special CIA units and cheney's death squad and AT&T's lawyers, everybody.
pfft. Everyone knows the preferred controller for exceptionally accurate sniping is a mouse and keyboard.
Perhaps they thought that was a bit too unfair.
No, this one has auto-aim
Talk about a roflcopter
How hard did they think before they came up with an acronym that sounds like "arse?"
This concept has to scare the bejeezus out of the Secret Service.
to be fair, robot apocalypse is scheduled for Q4 2012.
Only the US Army could come up with an acronym like ARSS (ASS to our US cousins over the pond) for such a cool tech-toy.
I, for one, welcome our autonomous sniping helicopter overlords.
wasn't there a movie where a video game was actually a secret training exercise for the military and the highest scores were turned recruits...maybe it was an episode of clerks...
either way, xbox gamers will be the armys new recruits
ZOMG, finally!
I fly an RC heli myself, there is no way this is going to be able to replace a sniper (anyone who has tryed to to snipe with a .338 rifle for real will agree). Then there is the fact these things are so fragile, it would be too easy to shoot it down.
I think we all agree snipers are masters at concealment. Its an insult to call this a sniper.
Speaking of snipers I think i see one ove.... 330-1879
CARRIER LOST
Hatredcopter? No one?
Using an Xbox controller seems to make remote warfare even more like a game. Doesn't seem right when these upgraded toys are being used to kill real people.
Remember that your 'enemies' are often decied by the state. They are not your enemies until someone in a suit tells you so.
The .338 round also happens to be what the AWP uses in CS, so we all know what that means, right?