Comments on: I, for one, welcome our new robot cockroach overlords.

I, for one, welcome our new robot cockroach overlords.

allkindsoftime — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 09:53:26 -0800

No one believes me when I told them that the swarms of robot cockroaches are out to get me.

By: slackdog

slackdog — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 10:31:05 -0800

that is evil and it must be stopped

By: wanderingmind

wanderingmind — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 10:32:38 -0800

This is awesome and I want that software to play with it myself.

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 10:39:03 -0800

Uh-oh

. . . a trawl of Pentagon budget documents turns up a number of hardware projects. One, by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which is tasked with dealing with WMD threats, commences in fiscal year 2007 for "technology necessary for robotic systems to attack tunnel complexes" and another for "microdamage technologies" for "very small robotic weapons."

By: allkindsoftime

allkindsoftime — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 10:39:15 -0800

you're one of them, aren't you?

By: quin

quin — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 10:46:10 -0800

This is the first time I've read about a kind of technology where I thought: You know, it may be time to seriously consider implementing Asimov's Three Laws. Not saying that it isn't cool or anything, but the bit about how they don't need to program robots, the software just figures it out and chooses the most optimum method of movement? Yeah, that bit got me thinking about the inevitable robot Apocalypse. (Which is actually kind of refreshing, since I normally worry about the inevitable zombie Apocalypse.)

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 10:50:35 -0800

No one believes me when I say that aliens cometo me at night and draw nourishment from the fluid in my eyeballs. Explain that one, science boy.

By: allkindsoftime

allkindsoftime — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 10:58:24 -0800

You think the Three Laws will save us? Have you not seen I, Robot???

By: quin

quin — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 11:30:46 -0800

allkindsoftime, Sure. That's why I said 'inevitable', but at least with the three laws the robots won't be armed. We stand a better chance of taking them on in a straight fight. Also, if the Zeroth Law in the film had been more like what Asimov actually wrote, it wouldn't have been nearly as catastrophic or dangerous to humans. Though it would have made for a really boring action movie. The film version was kinda like Zeroth Law sped up by a million times.

By: Vindaloo

Vindaloo — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 11:38:48 -0800

Isn't there an episode of X-Files that deals with swarms of robot cockroaches?

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 11:39:36 -0800

This is bad. Among other things, they are talking about robots that can: * Avoid detection * Work cooperatively ("swarm"), sacrificing members as diversions, if that's useful * Adapt to obstacles and countermeasures * Carry and use weapons (although the implication of "microdamage weapons" is that they will only do micro-harm, who's setting that limit?)

By: blueshammer

blueshammer — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 11:53:57 -0800

Yeah, I'm not sure I'm ready for this. The episode of the X-Files is War of the Coprophages, whose robotic cockroach(es?) was/were premised on the idea that alien intelligences are more likely to send a small drone to evaluate another planet than actually land a craft here. What kind of drone? Well, a small one that could, among other things, be powered by methane (hence explaining the attraction of the bugs to dung.) The joke of the episode are all the competing explanations for the town's cockroaches.

By: distant figures

distant figures — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 12:43:15 -0800

I can't wait until these things can self-replicate.

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 13:13:06 -0800

By: CynicalKnight

CynicalKnight — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 13:36:13 -0800

I want that software to play with it myself That's not how it works. First it plays with itself. Then, after a while, it plays with you.

By: itchylick

itchylick — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 13:42:29 -0800

Reminds me of Prey.

By: SBMike

SBMike — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 15:24:07 -0800

Well, since if you "Give it [the software] any set of robotic limbs and it will master locomotion within minutes without any programming," the machines themselves don't need to replicate. If they can figure out how to duplicate their software into other computer-controlled devices, we'll have a monster of a problem. Shouldn't be too hard for them. With their survailance and stealth capabilities, all it would take is for them to blackmail a handful of humans to do their bidding and we're no longer the dominant species on this planet. The thing about software is that its very easy to transfer to different hardware.

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 18:02:08 -0800

... don't look now, but I think some of them may be swarming loose among us now.

By: |n$eCur3

|n$eCur3 — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 03:24:19 -0800

My robotic cat destroys your robotic pests.

By: cenoxo

cenoxo — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 09:29:09 -0800

[Previously — Think of the big one as a troop transport. Oh, and U.S. Department of Defense Seeks Proposals on Remote-Controlled Insect-Cyborgs]

By: neuron

neuron — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 13:27:19 -0800

No one believes me when I told them that the swarms of robot cockroaches are out to get me. No one believes me when I say that I'm a mad scientist.