In another creepy case of life mimicking fiction, BAE Systems is creating an army of robotic spiders that they will be selling to the US Army to use in warfare. The development is causing some worry over whether some of the frightening scenes in the sci-fi flick Minority Report were a fairly accurate representation of the future.
In the movie, Tom Cruise is chased by an army of government deployed robotic spider spies attempting to hunt him down. Although Hollywood intended it as science fiction, the US military says they are dropping the fiction part of the equation.
Dr. Joseph Mait of the US Army Research Lab explains, “Robotic platforms extend the warfighter's senses and reach, providing operational capabilities that would otherwise be costly, impossible, or deadly to achieve."
"The idea is to get a number of these working together – some tiny, some maybe up to a foot in length, and all going into a building together carrying out different tasks. Eventually we hope to have animals flying and slithering.
"The five-year program has just started but we could have them with soldiers within six months, and then continue to develop the concept as the project goes along."
In other words, having robotic spiders scout ahead to find and lead you to whoever it is that you want to blow up could make the job a whole lot easier. Defense giant BAE Systems is currently developing electronic spiders, flying insects, and snakes to help soldiers hunt the enemy without exposing themselves to dangerous situations
The effort is being funded by a $38 million agreement with the U.S. Army. The global military contractor has announced that it will lead a large alliance of American academics in building this army of miniature robots, with plans to have them actively deployed in war zones by the end of 2008.
The project known as The Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) Collaborative Technology Alliance is creating the miniature robots to replace the eyes and ears of soldiers. Before entering private residences harboring suspected terrorists and caves, for example, the soldiers will send in a drone insect to scout it out and send back surveillance footage of the scene.
A promotional video released by BAE shows robot spiders scurrying around corners and mechanical dragonflies hovering in windows, with images transmitted to wrist-mounted monitors and command centers, warning their human masters of potential threats.
BAE claims that the technology could potentially save thousands of lives. Program Manager Steve Scalera says the idea is for these creepy crawlies to become every front-line soldier's best friend. Scalera was inspired by the way some creatures can use special senses to detect danger.
"The idea is to get a number of these working together – some tiny, some maybe up to a foot in length, and all going into a building together carrying out different tasks. Eventually we hope to have animals flying and slithering.
"The five-year program has just started but we could have them with soldiers within six months, and then continue to develop the concept as the project goes along."
However, not everyone is happy with the direction the US Government is going in regards to its ever-growing spy programs. Civil rights groups are concerned about the millions being spent on new spy tech every year. The best-case scenario is that these spy spiders will prevent troops abroad from making gruesome mistakes, such as the unfortunate incidents where US troops gunned down innocent families sitting at their dinner tables before realizing that they had misidentified their targets.
The worst-case scenario, however, is that by putting millions of dollars into more foreign spying programs, that the US is also increasing the likelihood of becoming more of a Big Brother nation at home, as well. Over the course of Bush's domestic spying program, he repeatedly broke the law that requires warrants to tap the phones of American citizens. When legal experts, civil rights proponents, and ordinary citizens protested, he declared that as president he is not obliged to obey laws he doesn’t agree with. That notion doesn’t sit well with the millions of Americans who value the right to privacy and other civil liberties.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is also funding research for stealth surveillance robots that can fly and are the size and appearance of a common housefly. They believe the robot's small size and fly-like appearance will be an invaluable tool in their eavesdropping arsenal.
In a controversial statement, former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, told political science majors at Drew University in New Jersey, that the US Government was fully justified in stripping rights from Americans in such pieces of legislation as the Patriot Act, and that Americans should have not problem going along with it because, Gingrich noted, it is only right that when under threat, “people will give up all their liberties” to avoid danger.
In a contrary view, President James Madison warned, “If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be under the guise of fighting a foreign enemy".
Unfortunately, there’s no way to know if the US Military’s increasing reliance on robotic drone and spy tech will turn out to be an overall good thing over the long haul, and only time will tell.
Posted by Rebecca Sato.
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