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DARPA to Raise Robot LANdroid Army

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:15 AM
from the hey-baby-wanna-destroy-all-humans dept.
Robotics United States
Banekartr writes "The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency plans to develop a fleet of robots that soldiers can deploy in urban combat settings as they move through houses and along streets. The program, dubbed LANdroid, envisions miniature autonomous drones that can form a network capable of relaying radio traffic in a setting often considered challenging for communications equipment. According to a notional image of a LANdroid included in a DARPA pamphlet, each robot will be about the size of a deck of cards, and must be rugged, lightweight and able to operate for seven to 14 days, the agency said. Demand for technologies to improve the military's ability to fight in urban settings has increased in recent years because many of the operations in Iraq take place in Baghdad and other Iraqi metropolitan settings. DARPA officials will provide additional information about the program during a July 6 industry day."
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  • Won't a bunch of little robots crawling about be pretty conspicuous?

    Really, how difficult will it to put a bounty out for kids to go about smashing such things with rocks or something? Unless they can stay undetected they're gonna be prime targets for removal by anyone who doesn't want them about.

    Cheers
    • I think they see these operational in active combat zones. Not sure how many kids are running around smashing stuff when there's live fire a block over. They could always print a copy of the Koran on the cover, making it a sin to destroy them. :)

      I just hope they run linux so I can program my own LANDroid minions.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by gstoddart (321705)

        I think they see these operational in active combat zones. Not sure how many kids are running around smashing stuff when there's live fire a block over.

        Hopefully that's true. But, I don't get the impression that when there's a running firefight in urban parts of Baghdad that they've managed to clear out all of the civilians. In some places (maybe not Iraq, I don't know), the kids are sadly participating in the live fire.

        When you're battling an insurgency/non-traditional forces, they don't always clear eve

    • Give them simple avoidance algorithms. We've been studying cockroaches for how long now?
      Ew. Robotic cockroaches. Armed. Hundreds of them.
      Better hope that IFF thingy works.
    • Seems pretty easy to use low-tech against these. Dogs for one. And then application of effective peasant technology such as POR weapons (Plain Old Rocks) or SMD (Shovel of Mass Destruction) or the more sophisticated FBCB airborne weapon, also known as Frikkin Big Concrete Block deployed off roof.

      Also they may be susceptive to simple home-brew weapons. Robo-tasers, gadgets rigged from auto ignition coils, etc.

    • From the PDF document (page 10)


      The goal is to create small, inexpensive, smart robotic radio relay nodes that
      dismounted warfighters drop as they deploy in urban settings. The nodes then self-configure and
      form a mesh network - a temporary infrastructure that establishes communications over the
      region. As the situation changes, the nodes will adapt the network, such as self-healing if nodes
      are destroyed by the enemy. Through movement and density, the LANdroids will enable
      effective communications in complex non
    • Hah!
      I'll just counter-attack the Landroids using my LandLord(TM). It will send them home penniless and humiliated.

  • Please no (Score:3, Funny)

    by Hijacked Public (999535) * on Wednesday June 20 2007, @10:22AM (#19580475)
    Please tell me that the network layout graphics in the linked PDF were not created by an adult working for the US Government.

    Seriously, the little guy running with a rifle icon, that has to be from some grade school art contest. No one could possibly think those are functional informational graphics intended for grown ups.

    And the green clouds?
    • Grownups? Since when are reporters and news managers grownups?
    • Seriously, the little guy running with a rifle icon, that has to be from some grade school art contest.

      It's from a clip-art collection. I swear to god I've seen it before.

      I think the "green cloud" is intentional -- if you look at it, it's not just a cloud, it's an overlapping of circles with radial gradients surrounding each of the nodes, presumably indicating their range or effective coverage area. Or maybe because it just looks cool.

      Anyway, this is DARPA -- what do you expect? They're too busy thinking ab
      • The problem, as usual, is that the graphics will eventually affect how they look at things and silly cartoonish graphics aren't going to further anyone's understanding.

        The green circles are all the same size. If the Landroid that fell down into the sewer can effectively cover the same area as the one clinging to the side of the building, this must be some new wireless LAN technology I've never seen before.

        And the warfighters who are trying to communicate, they both look like Meatloaf wearing a cookpot on hi
    • I presume the green circles are "radio footprints." Of course, whomever made this either didn't realize that overlapping the radio footprints doesn't make the devices communicate (the footprint has to reach the next device over), or figured that people reading wouldn't know and were going for visual impact instead.

  • LANdriod? (Score:3, Funny)

    by AltGrendel (175092) <ag-slashdot@exNETBSDit0.us minus bsd> on Wednesday June 20 2007, @10:23AM (#19580499) Homepage
    Come on, you can do better than that

    And anyway, I thought that Lucas had a copyright on anything 'droid.

    • True. Besides, when I hear LANdroid, I think of the poor intern being blown about by cold air as he pops his head up from raised floor tiles like a meerkat while holding miles of tangled CAT5.
    • Well, originally they wanted iLANDroid but ...
  • "We can put a man on the moon, but we can't build killer robot police?"

  • I can't wait (Score:3, Interesting)

    by niceone (992278) * on Wednesday June 20 2007, @10:27AM (#19580591) Journal
    I can't wait for the civilian version - I could use a bunch of Wifi routers with tracks scurrying round my house making sure I never get into a weak signal area.

    As long as I could turn them off at night that is.
  • This is really being designed to help the army commanders answer the age-old question: "TK-421, why aren't you at your post?" Now they can just ask the LANDroids.

  • able to operate for seven to 14 days

    They'll probably need to recharge their batteries rather than dedicate a lot of space to bigger ones.

    When the Pentagon sends out little robots that feed on "battlefield casualty" bodies, we're all doomed.
    • I think the point is they would just have non-replacable batteries, work for 14 days (or whatever) by managing that power very closely, and then die.

      I strongly suspect that they're considered disposable -- you place them out to get communications coverage for one particular operation, and then just abandon them in place afterwards.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by quanticle (843097)

        just abandon them in place afterwards.

        That may not be a good idea, since enemy forces could just then grab the abandoned droids, and use them to listen in or jam our communications. A better idea would be a self-destruct mechanism of some kind, to prevent capture.

        Also, does anyone else think that these LANDroids sound a lot like the Probe Droids from Empire Strikes Back?

        • Doesn't seem like that would be too hard to do. It might be something as simple as only storing the encryption key in volatile memory, so that when the batteries run out, the key evaporates. You're left with the hardware, but it won't handshake with the rest of the network or do anything else particularly useful.

          Plus, if you're an adversary trying to avoid being killed by U.S. forces, picking up a U.S. radio and transmitting on it is probably unhealthy. As in, once detected, it could lead to serious HARM [fas.org]. (
    • Being military, they'll probably use RTGs to charge capacitors. I suspect a fairly small RTG would generate enough juice to charge ultra-capacitors for use on the high-energy stuff like movement. AKAImBatman would know more, if he's reading...

      • Yeah, because it'd be a good idea to give terrorists easy access to nuclear materials/technology. :)

        (Yeah, I know, RTGs use low-grade materials, but it's funnier if you don't think too hard about it. OTOH, it might make it harder to detect actual bomb-making materials if you're scattering around a bunch of RTGs.)

      • Re:To Serve Man (Score:5, Interesting)

        by AKAImBatman (238306) * <akaimbatman.gmail@com> on Wednesday June 20 2007, @11:11AM (#19581543) Homepage Journal

        AKAImBatman would know more, if he's reading...

        At your service. I saw the bat-signal and came a'running. ;-)

        Being military, they'll probably use RTGs to charge capacitors.

        It would be nice, but I doubt it. RTGs are still incredibly expensive and wouldn't be used on something throw-away like this. In fact, the military as a whole tends to shy away from nuclear technology unless it's a bomb. The only reason why NASA still uses RTGs in the face of public protests is because nothing else will work. (Spacecraft live and die by the power available to them. Nuclear is not just an option, it's a requirement for extended space travel. People are going to need to accept that if we ever want to push out into space.)

        More likely the military will look into using fuel cells or microgenerators to power these little buggers. For about the same space as it would cost to pack a couple of LIon batteries, the engineers could stick an alcohol fuel tank & (power cell | micro-gas turbine) with many time the energy density. That would allow the robots to meet or exceed the 7-14 day life expectancy.

        Here's an example of just such a fuel cell: http://www.gizmag.com/go/5325/ [gizmag.com]
    • Anybody else remember the one with the two vultures on it that said "Scavengers my eye! I'm going to kill something!" I imagine a Beowulf cluster of these would look like a swarm of pirhanas come feeding time...
  • These aren't the droids.... GAHHHH!
  • equals a really bad sci fi movie. I guess that depends on how you liked terminator or R.O.T.O.R. . I'm sure there are many others and they usually end pretty bad. Like some terrorist getting their hands on the robot and reprogramming.

    But if it saves human lives, then it is a good thing. Until they decide they are better than us and hunt us all down.

    ROTFLOL

  • WiFi Repeater With Wheels? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Bob9113 (14996) on Wednesday June 20 2007, @10:40AM (#19580841) Homepage
    OK, I just gotta ask: Why would you want a WiFi repeater to be mobile? Given its size, it can't be *that* mobile, especially in an environment with a little bomb debris. I can't imagine it would be able to keep up with the troops, and the recovery rate (if they're hoping for it to drive home) would be so miniscule as to be outweighed by the increased bulk and cost of the drive unit.

    Leave the drive unit and motor control out, double the battery life, halve the weight and price, drop twice as many. Then design a separate device to do whatever they hell those tracks are on there for (giving the brass stiffies, is my guess).

    JM2C, but this looks like a tits-on-a-mule cockup between war scientists and dipshit generals. "That looks good. Can you put wheels on it?" "Wheels, Sir?" "Yeah, wheels, so it can drive around, like that Grand Challenge thing you did. And the Predator. Autonomous warfighting robots, it's the future, son." "Umm, well, I guess it's possible." "Outstanding! Let me know when it's ready."

    Not that I don't dig the shit out of DARPA, and I definitely want an autonomoous WiFi tank of my own, but this seems a little stupid.
    • Agree completely. Having it move around seems stupid, unless it has some sort of other purpose besides what's being disclosed. (Anyone remember the little slow-crawling bombs from Total Annihilation?) I think they're just there for the "wow" (or perhaps "WTF") factor.

      Seems like, if you had enough money to spend on the design, you could make a wifi (or similar UHF/microwave) repeater that was really tiny. Use custom ASICs, and I bet you could get something that was less than an inch in diameter and a few inches long, including batteries. Harden them appropriately, and you could drop them from planes over a target area, and even if you took substantial losses, would still have a functioning mesh network on the ground.

      What you really want isn't a miniature tank with a Wifi AP strapped to it, what you want is an overgrown self-powered RFID tag with transmit/receive and basic routing capabilities.
    • I suspect that they will not only have wheel but also cameras. THAT would make them useful as an occupation tool. (Of course it should absolutely not be tolerated outside a battlefield and any citizen should be authorized to destroy them during peace time). For a SF vision of this sort, you can check this SF webcomic [e-sheep.com]. In fact the idea seems to come directly from it...

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      In the PDF they specifically mention the two reasons for wheels/tracks (doesn't matter which for the project, just that it's able ot move):
      • Fine tuning of signal strength. If you think this is not a significant advantage, you haven't spent much time trying to find the strongest signal for a particular location. Just because your home wifi is 'good enough' for your purposes, doesn't mean it couldn't be a lot better 2 inches to the North. This is very significant when you realize that these units will be de
  • LANdroid army ::tab::

    incidentally how does one include strings in gt/lt brackets without the /. parser recognizing it as html.
  • Paint them white, let them loose and wait for the enemy to say 'Ooh, iPhone!' then when they pick it up, kaboom!

  • I for one... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Mr. Fahrenheit (962814) on Wednesday June 20 2007, @10:53AM (#19581155)
    ...welcome our new... oh god I'm so depressed.
  • did I hear someone mention Landru [incompetech.com]?
  • "Demand for technologies .. has increased .. because many of the operations in Iraq take place in Baghdad and other Iraqi metropolitan settings"

    How dare those Islamo-fascist-crypto-communists think they can run their own country and steal our oil.
  • Cute little things, but they are going to have a hell of a time with stairs.

    • they are going to have a hell of a time with stairs

      Says who? [wikipedia.org]

      Actually, I see these things (the DARPA card deck-sized robots) being tossed through second floor windows, and launched to higher storeys.

  • Supposedly, the LANdroids are to be deployed at the same time the troops are. The only problem I see is that these droids can't move as fast as Hummers and tanks. An army needs to be highly mobile, and take ground at a high rate. How can these droids change positions fast enough to compensate for a fast-moving army? Doesn't seem possible to me.

    A better alternative would be to make these droids into mini-helicopters instead. They could land on roof-tops and thus be more out of harm's way. Plus, they could

    • Re:urban pacification .. (Score:4, Funny)

      by Shihar (153932) on Wednesday June 20 2007, @11:00AM (#19581307)

      How about not spending the money on figuring out ways to destroy some gook village and instead spend it on health care. Wait untill they turn this stuff on you.
      Wait until they turn an army of wi-fi LAN bots on us? Oh dear god. Please, don't let them give me free wi-fi access!
    • Person #1: "We need ideas on how to resolve the Iraq quagmire."
      Person #2: "How about a withdrawal?"
      Person #1: "Unreasonable! Next!"
      Person #3: "A death ray?"
      Person #1: "Look into that, next!"
      Person #2: "A withdrawal is the sane answer..."
      Person #1: "No can do! Next!"
      Person #4: "Ummm, a billion dollars for mind control research?"
      Person #1: "Great! Add it to the budget, next!"
      Person #2: "For a fraction of that we could end this."
      Person #1: "Not acceptable! Gotta stay in! Next!"
      Person #5: "A fleet of robot

    • Minority Report? I immediately thought of the spiders in Runaway [imdb.com] ... what? Tom Selleck, Gene Simmons, Kirstey Alley ... killer robots, bullets that fly around corners ...
      damn, y'all make me feel old.

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