US Navy Developing App-Summoned Robotic Helicopter

Zothecula writes "We may be closer to the day when United States Marines will, within a matter of minutes, use a handheld app to summon robotic helicopters to deliver battlefield supplies. On Tuesday, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced its five-year, US$98 million Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (AACUS) program, with the specific aim of developing 'sensors and control technologies for robotic vertical take-off and landing aircraft.'" Last month we covered NATO's robotic helicopter, the K-MAX.

Giving a new definition to...

[Anonymous Coward]

Killer App.

Re:Robots

[Ethanol-fueled]

It's called "fuzzing." In computing, fuzzing is throwing invalid data at a program to see how it responds. In social engineering, fuzzing serves to confound your mark, softening them, so that you can get what you want out of them.

One of the most familiar fuzzing techniques is saying absurd things with a straight face, often interleaving them with factual data. Parents could use the technique to see if their kids are paying attention to what they're saying, and slimy sales-types often use a similar trick to determine gullibility and susceptibility. When you call the latter on their bullshit, they can just say, "Haha, just messin' with you, man," and smile with a nudge or a pat on the back.

I fuzz naturally because I am a schizophrenic and use facial expressions, body language, and gestures that are all incongruent to each other. I can put people in a trance by glazing over my eyes while talking to them, leaving them to consciously forget every word I said to them even though I overflowed their buffer with suggestions.

And the App Will be Called...

[IonOtter]

"Get to da choppa!"