Reminds me of the "slamdog" in Count Zero. It's unclear whether the "dog" is completely artificial or is just a modified dog, but it seeks out a target and blows itself up as soon as it's in killing range. Also, DARPA was funding some robotics research along these lines recently. My understanding is that the projects got opened up when military planners thought they'd be having to root Talibani out of deep cave networks. (So maybe DARPA is always fighting the war against what it's most afraid of?)
On Wed, Jun 10, 2009 at 12:38 PM, Dana Paxson <[email protected]> wrote: > It can be jarring for an author when what you've written comes true. Or > in this case, maybe not so much fun, as in this battle scene: > > "They like these traps. Angie, can you run a groundhog? We gotta get back > to Nargolin." > > "Sure. You got one?" > > "It just so happens I do. Just one, so get it right. Low noise. Here goes." > Ellichik pulled a forearm-sized object from his carapiece and stuck it on > the wall. It stayed, changing color to match its background. Then it arched > itself to one side and descended the wall, turning to white as it came into > the lights and moved to the floor. Ezzar lowered herself to watch it sidle > to the inner curved wall and suddenly streak off toward its target, the red > outline in her viewer, exploding with a soft Whump! Silence. The red target > dimmed. > > "Target's dead," Angie said. > > That's from my Descending Road, written in 1995. I'm sure other authors > have done the same or better. It is indeed unsettling when our bloody > fictional extrapolations take living deadly form. > > Weapon inventors no doubt read a lot of SF... (8-( > > > > Jonathan wrote: > > > > Sent to you by Jonathan via Google Reader: > > > Exploding Surveillance Snake Robot Is Unsettling at Best > [Robots]<http://feeds.gawker.com/%7Er/gizmodo/full/%7E3/hh75KU0Mu1k/exploding-surveillance-snake-robot-is-unsettling-at-best> > via Gizmodo <http://gizmodo.com> by Adam Frucci on 6/10/09 > > Nothing beats combining your fears into one, absolutely terrifying object. > This is a robotic snake that, when necessary, can blow itself up. Yes, a > suicide-bombing robosnake. > > Developed by the Israeli army, this robot is primarily intended to be used > for surveillance, slithering around with a camera on its front. But if need > be, it can be wired up with explosives just in case it finds itself > somewhere that would be better suited as a pile of rubble. > > Just look at that herky-jerky motion! It's the stuff of nightmares! [Jerusalem > Post<http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1244371047887&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull>via > Engadget<http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/09/israeli-military-develops-robot-snake-for-battlefield-children/>via > BotJunkie <http://www.botjunkie.com/2009/06/10/exploding-robot-snakecam/>] > > > <http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=d346514d0225b2b9ee459da210cafc9a&p=1> > > <http://feeds.gawker.com/%7Eff/gizmodo/full?a=hh75KU0Mu1k:GChvJwYAE3U:H0mrP-F8Qgo> > <http://feeds.gawker.com/%7Eff/gizmodo/full?a=hh75KU0Mu1k:GChvJwYAE3U:yIl2AUoC8zA> > <http://feeds.gawker.com/%7Eff/gizmodo/full?a=hh75KU0Mu1k:GChvJwYAE3U:D7DqB2pKExk> > <http://feeds.gawker.com/%7Eff/gizmodo/full?a=hh75KU0Mu1k:GChvJwYAE3U:V_sGLiPBpWU> > > > > Things you can do from here: > > - Subscribe to > Gizmodo<http://www.google.com/reader/view/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.gawker.com%2Fgizmodo%2Ffull?source=email>using > *Google Reader* > - Get started using Google > Reader<http://www.google.com/reader/?source=email>to easily keep up with > *all your favorite sites* > > > > > > > > > -- eric scoles ([email protected]) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
