http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/
What about throwing the grenade or does that require another job posting. Or maybe its the model Al Qaeda requested]]>Feb 4th 2010 8:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/
The brief talks about the robot being able to find a "ball", pick it up, and throw it.]]>Feb 4th 2010 8:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Autonomous
Robot
Inert
Nade
Explosion]]>Feb 4th 2010 8:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/
One to take the grenade out of its container, one to pull the pin, and one to aim and throw it. Plus since these are separate projects, they would give them out as separate government contracts which require separate advertisements, separate bids, and separate awards. Now, since these three robots will all be designed by different entities, after they finish, we get to spend even more money tweaking them so that they can operate in unison...or put out new contracts to design new robots to act as intermediaries between the other three.]]>Feb 4th 2010 9:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Nade explosion- Nice.]]>Feb 4th 2010 11:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 5th 2010 9:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/


sorry.....I was just listening to Tenacious D]]>Feb 4th 2010 8:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Don't apologize for JB and KG- Now we're talking double team. SUPREME! :)]]>Feb 4th 2010 11:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/
Why wouldn't you want to make a weapon out of something?]]>Feb 4th 2010 8:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/
Just about all major scientific advancements have been funded with government money. And yes, a lot of them had military applications. Everything does!]]>Feb 4th 2010 8:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/
I don't mind somethings, just not everything. It's like if a scientist came up with a cure for cancer everyone would say "YAY!". The military would say "How can we weaponize it".]]>Feb 4th 2010 8:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Look at NASA's recently unveiled Robonaut2 (posted on Engadget earlier today). Not all Gov't spending needs to be militarized.]]>Feb 4th 2010 8:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/
Really? 50% of U.S. GDP you say? So... how come the U.S. with it's 7 trillion dollar military budget... doesn't own the world by now???

P.S. 2010 proposed defense budget: 534 billion.
divide by U.S. GDP: 14 trillion
roughly 4% of the U.S. GDP is spent on its military.]]>Feb 4th 2010 11:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Ever since Cain killed his brother, the human race has sought to make the task easier... Soon, humans won't even have to do it, the "toasters" will.]]>Feb 4th 2010 11:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/
If the USA was going to war with France or Australia, I would find this really disturbing because robot soldiers will make warfare more palatable. But if we're at war with, say the Taliban, or Al Qaida, those who would suicide bomb and suicide bomb and are mainly just trying to be as bloody as possible with no realistic end game, this is actually a rational response. Let them blow up a toaster instead of a person, and their tactics don't work as well.

The real solution is to have as many democracies (actual) as possible, because such countries rarely war against eachother. I don't want to judge the Islamist countries as inferior, but they do present a long term problem if we're going to stabilize the region. You could argue that it's not our place to do it, but it's been decided (because of 9/11 for example) that it is our place to do it. Might may not make right, but it makes real.

Let them find a way to deal with us other than suicide bombing our troops. Toaster-troops might help in that regard.]]>Feb 5th 2010 3:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/
I'm pretty sure our enemies would laugh us to scorn if we threw kittens at them.

*facepalm*]]>Feb 4th 2010 8:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 9:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Not if the robot has shielding like in Airforce One.]]>Feb 4th 2010 8:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Not once some laboratory figures out how to make biological computing with viruses etc.]]>Feb 4th 2010 11:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 11:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/
Now THAT'S scary.]]>Feb 4th 2010 8:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/
Exactly. It makes no sense to develop a robot that has to pick up a grenade, pull the pin, and throw it if your goal is just to make a grenade-wielding robot weapon. Why all of the restrictive humanoid physics? An autonomous grenade launcher on tracks would make much more sense. All I can think of to explain this is that it would be used to detonate unexploded grenades on a range somewhere, but that still seems like a grossly inefficient use of DARPA.]]>Feb 4th 2010 9:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Johnny 5!!!]]>Feb 4th 2010 9:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 10:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/
Because they want the versatility of human hands.

They don't actually want a way to merely blow people up. We already have a robot that can launch thousands of grenades at targets many miles away with grenade relevant accuracy. But it can't do the unexpected in a way a robo-hand might.]]>Feb 5th 2010 3:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 5th 2010 9:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/That is exactly what bothers me with this sort of thing.
I understand the desire to make unmanned drones and such, in order to make killing people "safer" and more efficient, but is there really any need to pursue the whole 'totally autonomous angle'.
Surely it would be more effective to have the geek equivalent of a grunt controlling it remotely, thus cutting out the whole skynet/literal BSOD problem.]]>Feb 4th 2010 9:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/SNAKE?
SNAKE!
SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]]>Feb 4th 2010 11:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/crush kill destroy
crush kill destroy]]>Feb 4th 2010 8:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 8:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 9:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 9:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 9:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/]]>Feb 4th 2010 10:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/darpa-job-posting-talks-of-developing-an-autonomous-grenade-wie/Feb 4th 2010 10:16PM