RoboCop Fantasy Gets Real
On June 28, 2007, iRobot and Taser International teamed in Boston to demonstrate their joint product, to be used by law enforcement and the Pentagon.
By merging Taser stun guns with robots already manufactured for the military, iRobot wants to provide police and soldiers with a nonlethal, defensive weapon.
Certain observers, however, are worried such inventions could wind up resulting in robots that decide for themselves when to shoot and possibly kill someone.
“Right now, we have no plans to take any robot with a lethal-weapon approach to the market,” iRobot vice president for business development Jim Rymarcsuk stressed.
The two firms stated they have a model that will be shown at the conference Taser is hosting July 9-10 in Chicago. The model combines iRobot’s current PackBot Explorer with the Taser X26m in what iRobot describes as “the first robot of its kind with an on-board, integrated Taser payload.”
It is not yet known when the system will be available to purchase or what its price will be.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) from the Houston Chronicle (06/29/07); Jewell, Mark.