Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Mar 16, 2006 1:50:38 GMT -6
SWORDS - First Robots To Break Asimov's First Law Of Robotics
"A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm."
Next month [February, 2005], the US Army will be putting robot soldiers in the field in Iraq. The SWORDS (Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems) robots are fully armed; when the human operator verifies that a suitable target is within sight, it fires. They are equipped with either the M249 (which fires 5.56-millimeter rounds at 750 rounds per minute) or the M240 (which fires 7.62-millimeter rounds at up to 1,000 per minute).
These robots are poised be the first working robots that are actually designed to break Isaac Asimov's First Law of Robotics.
Story here: www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=320
========
The author writes in this article that these machines are not totally "automonous" and utilize human controllers, but give the military time...it will come to pass...
