Robocalypse Now: Toy-sized combat robot fires "pyrophoric warheads"

I’m torn here. Not literally torn, as I expect to be when the robots take over and my body is used for spare parts, but morally torn. On one hand, here we have a little robot that could venture into dangerous situations via remote control and detonate bombs or flush out enemy dudes. Could save lives. On the other hand, here we have a little robot that, given the spark of strong AI, could rumble by the thousand through the wreckage of our world, checking every cranny for human insurgents. Just blast ‘em and let the EATRs clean up.

So as you can see, I can’t tell whether to cheer on our robot-loving military or cower under my bed, crying.

The Israeli roboticists who have created it (and advanced the machines’ day of ascendancy by who knows how long) call it the Pincher, and it’s really made for finding and detonating IEDs by firing tiny 8-inch-long rockets at them. The rockets, which they call pyrophoric arrows, bury themselves in the explosive and burn it away.

The robot itself is tiny (50 square inches, so probably around 7″x7″ — small enough to carry in a pack or mistake for a toy. I had a TMNT Pizza Van about that size that fired little pizzas from a launcher. I kind of wish I’d had one of these things. No! No, Devin! That’s what the machines want you to think! Be strong!

[via Danger Room]