US Army looks for robots that can clean up chemical and bioweapons messes

It's bot versus bot! Just in time for the predicted rise of AI-made biological and chemical weapons, the US Army has plans to fight autonomy with autonomy by getting its hands on some bot-based chemical weapon cleanup tech. The Army recently published a Request For Information on Autonomous Decontamination Systems (ADS) to see …

[BartyFartsLast]

"drones"?

Those things with propellers that are ideal for wafting CBRN contaminants all over the place?

[Throatwarbler Mangrove]

A drone does not need to be airborne. You can have strictly terrestrial or undersea drones as well.

Also, TIL that a Humvee is considered an armored vehicle, a revelation I'm sure will come as a surprise to the troops using them (the non-Frankenstein versions, anyway).

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Woke

Claims that chemicals and viruses are bad for you is just woke rubbish.

Real men breath phosgene and vaccines are a Democrat plot, and anyway Smallpox is just like a cold and only affects the weak and unmanly

[Excused Boots]

Re: Woke

I see this got downvoted already.. There needs to be a much more obvious ‘sarcasm’ tag, just to help the hard of thinking!

[EvilDrSmith]

Well, there is a 'heavy Hmmwv' M1114 that was developed in the 1990's (?) that is armoured (though being a left-pondian vehicle, I should probably say 'armored'), but we're talking bullet proof/resistant and protected against IED's rather than anything heavier - so comparable to the Humber Pig, not an M1A2

[Excused Boots]

Well yes, the term is fairly meaningless isn't it? Hypothetically, someone sufficiently motivated could make a IED capable of taking out a Abrams main battle tank. Unlikely but not impossible.

So ‘armoured' (armored), just means what you think it does. Proof against small arms fire (but then define small arms).

[Yorick Hunt]

Snails qualify as armoured; doesn't stop them from being squished when you walk across a dewy lawn.

[cookieMonster]

Pint for you sir

[Paul Hovnanian]

Finally!

A robot that can change the babies nappies.

[MonsieurTM]

So the US army goes in, sprays the land with depleted Uranium, biosweapons, plastic mines, etc.... Wait, wait! That's fine, because we've got robots to clean it up! So the US Army need heed no Geneva co mentions, not be told off, as the robots will clean it all up, if course! Annnnnnd.... Those companies supplying the nasty stuff will *never* Claude with the companies supplying the clean-up bots, eh? Oh no.

P.S. Note the sarcasm.