Bruce's MidEast Soundbites

Capturing the MidEast in short soundbites: poignant reflections by people who understand the complexities of the Middle East. My philosophy is: "less is more." You won't agree with everything that's here, but I'm confident you will find it interesting! Excepting the titles, my own comments are minimal. Instead I rely on news sources to string together what I hope is an interesting, politically challenging, non-partisan, non-ideological narrative.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Can technology beat jihad?

Israel Developing Armed Robots That Hop Over Obstacles -Mark Rutherford

SWAT and other urban assault teams could soon be deploying packs of all-seeing robots armed with mini-missiles to ferret out bad guys.

The EyeDrive unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) [pictured above and below] uses remote-

controlled 360-degree panoramic video technology and a patented Point and Go sensor guidance mode to run down and "instinctively eliminate" human targets at ranges of up to 90 feet, according to the Israel-based company ODF Optronics.

This 5-pound, all-terrain UGV can be tossed - or dropped - from up to 10 feet and is self-righting. The "hopper" feature allows the EyeDrive to hop over 3-foot obstacles. ODF plans to produce an armed version in cooperation with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, another Israeli outfit, that could carry up to 16 miniature rockets.
(CNET News)

1 comment:

LHwrites said...: If we knew where to send this particular device and were ready to deploy its missiles, we probably could ferret out the bad guys without it. This seems better to help intervene in hostile actions.; Saturday, December 13, 2008 10:40:00 PM