[Robotgroup] Fwd: Robot Questions

[Eric Lundquist]

I was approached by a person writing an article about creating a "Robot
Army".   Anyone who wants to respond can send their responses to me and I
will consolidate all the answers.  I can keep your responses anonymous if
you want.

Thanks!
Eric L


=====================================================

I am writing an article on the practicality of creating a robot army.
The piece is part parody but I would like the facts to be real and for
the subject to at least appear to be taken as seriously as possible.

Thank you all for participating.

Q: Recent developments in the world of robotics seem to suggest that
the dream of a privately owned robot army may be closer to reality
than ever before. Do you think that such a thing is possible? How much
would it cost?

Q: Robots such as the Packbot aren't truly autonomous. How close are
we to being able to field a robot that can execute simple orders with
a limited amount of feedback from its human masters?

Q: Until recently, the cosmetic aspect of robot design seemed to be
largely ignored. A robot army should be a terrifying sight.  Are there
any designs that you have seen that show the kind of flair that the
underlying technology deserves?

Q: Tracked and multilegged robots have significant advantages but the
holy grail has always been bipedal locomotion. Despite the huge
advances that have been made there are still no military or
paramilitary robots that we are aware of. Do you think a reliable
bipedal robot could be designed specifically for use in the
battlefield?

Q: You can't really discuss artificial intelligence without mentioning
Azimov's laws of robotics. What would be the simplest way to modify
these laws to allow for the creation of a design that can be sent into
battle against human opponents and will obey their master without
question?

Q: Battle ready robots like Lockheed's MULE are prohibitively
expensive. The designers of the Roomba have recently teamed up with
Taser to manufacture nonlethal units for local law enforcement that
seem like they would be more reasonably priced. Do you think it would
be possible to add weapons to an inexpensive system like a Roomba or
Robosapien?