RoboCops and robot soldiers got a little closer to reality Thursday as a US-based robot maker teamed up with a stun-gun manufacturer to arm track-wheeled ‘bots’ for the police and the army. By adding Tasers to robots it already makes for its nation’s military, iRobot Corp says it hopes to give soldiers and law enforcement a defensive, non-lethal tool.
But some observers fear such developments could ultimately lead to robots capable of deciding on their own when to shoot and kill. “It’s one more step in that direction,” said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a US-based military research organisation.
“I think at some point towards the end of the next decade, you’re going to start seeing RoboCops, or a Terminator,” Pike said, referring to the 1980s sci-fi films. “We may see autonomous robots capable of inflicting lethal force.”
Jim Rymarcsuk, a vice president at iRobot, said notions of armed robots acting on their own are far beyond what the company envisions for the partnership with personal defence gadget manufacturer, Taser International.
“Right now, we have no plans to take any robot with a lethal-weapon approach to the market,” Rymarcsuk said. “For this system, there is a human in the loop making the decisions. This in no way is giving the robot the capability to use force on its own.”
The companies said they have developed a model, which pairs iRobot’s existing PackBot Explorer with the Taser X26 in what iRobot calls “the first robot of its kind with an on-board, integrated Taser payload.” There’s no word when the system will be offered for sale, or for how much.
The Taser, used by thousands of law enforcement agencies, is an electric stun gun designed to help officers subdue violent suspects. However, some critics contend the weapon, which fires a slight electrical charge, can be deadly, particularly on suspects who use drugs or suffer from heart problems.
Taser International and police counter that no weapon is risk-free, and that Tasers actually save lives by helping officers avoid more dangerous weapons. iRobot’s Taser-equipped robot will be its first one capable of using force to disable a person.
The 17-year-old company is best known for its mobile robots for consumers, including the disc-shaped, carpet cleaning Roomba. But home robots account for only 60 per cent of the company’s revenue. The rest comes from government and industrial customers, including the military and police.
Versions of iRobot’s PackBot have disarmed roadside bombs and searched caves and buildings in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some scout dangerous areas before soldiers or emergency responders go in.
Pike envisions police SWAT teams and prison guards using Taser-equipped robots to deal with hostage situations and unruly inmates. He also expects they could supplement – or even replace – human guards patrolling property.
“I could see security companies wanting to buy it, I can see corrections departments wanting to buy it, because it might be seen as a cost-effective alternative to having a human guard patrolling a perimeter,” he said. Pike says Taser-equipped, remote-controlled robots are still a few steps away from becoming killing machines.
“For now, as soon as you let go of the joystick, the robot just sits there,” he added. “But further down the road, when these ground vehicles do achieve greater autonomy, there may be no human finger on the trigger.”
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