US Navy robot kill-choppers to drop auto-snort podules

The US Navy has awarded funds to develop a self-contained remote electronic sniffer unit which could be delivered to the holds of suspect vessels by a robot helicopter to detect "chemical, explosive, and illegal drug residues". The Fire Scout robo-chopper in sea trials Soon with droppable remote drug-sniffer bugs. VIASPACE …

[Ken Hagan]

Suspect sailors' crack sniffed out by droids

Splendid use of the apostrophe there, sir. That headline could have been seriously ambiguous otherwise. Thumbs up all round, er ...

[Flocke Kroes]

Why do they need it?

If they want drugs, they can go to central America and fill a ship up with them.

[Warhelmet]

I, for one...

welcome our new drug-sniffing overlords.

Erm...

[Lol Whibley]

AKA

the Beagle YoYo

dog on a bungie cord.

I CAN HAZ NAVY PORK NOW PLZ??

[Chris G]

Given the itchyness

Of American trigger fingers, there will be very few nitrate filled bulk carriers reaching US shores.

As Flocke Kroes notes, the yanks could go direct to source and buy the drugs direct, thereby saving a great deal of time trying to find them later. Then if they should wish they could destroy them at leisure.

I know it is a bit like the King of England paying the Vikings a lot of money (Danegeld) to not come to England to take a lot of money but hey, that's business.

[Anonymous Coward]

Skynet

How long til Skynet launches again??

[Matt]

"change the paradigm"

I love it when bods that term because generally it means anything but..

[Warhelmet]

Oh, podules...

I originally read it as auto snort poodles.

[Pyros]

Nah...

I read it as "sniffing out sailors' butt-crack."

[Tim]

Clubbers beware.

As you come out of the club at six in the morning, the last thing you want is a "podule" dropping out of the sky and rendering you even more incapable.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sailors? On Drugs?

Either that helicopter is really, really small, or ........... Oh My God I'm a giant !!!

[TeeCee]

@Warhelmet

Never mind. I initially read that they were to be made by "Loonfinity". Despite what it actually says, I'm still not sure that I wasn't right the first time.

[Why]

784k!?

The credit crunch must be hitting in - US Military signs a cheque for < 1 Million!

[Ian Ferguson]

Podule spiders

Pleeeeease let the podules have spider legs and run around taking video of everything... it will make my video game / sci fi movie dreams come true.

[Lukin Brewer]

Pete Loveday visualised this ages ago.

In one of his cartoons, a group of stoners were hassled by a drug sniffer dog being dangled from a police helicopter on a winch. One of them got on his motorbike, and, waving a joint, decoyed the dog (and helicopter) away. He then rode under a bridge, which the dog on the winch then smashed into.