Machine Uprising Update: Robot Helicopters to Hunt Pirates With Lasers

A Fire Scout Drone.

Just a couple of weeks after I speculated that The Machine Uprising Begins with Quadrotors, tiny autonomous helicopters that could wipe out all life as we know it once they attach lasers, Mashable reports on the U.S. Navy developing Robot Helicopters to Hunt Pirates with Lasers. See the video below.



From Mashable's article here's what these 'Fire Scout Drones' are capable of in their mission to identify pirates...

These helicopters will use high-definition cameras and sensors, including laser-radar technology (LADAR), to collect 3D images. The technology is called Multi-Mode Sensor Seeker (MMSS) and will be attached to a robot called Fire Scout. Fire Scout and its advanced recognition software will sift through boat images captured by the camera and see if they match targeted pirate boats.

Yeah right! These autonomous helicopter drones aren't called 'Fire Scouts' for nothing. You just know that someone is going to eventually say "Let's cut out law enforcement and just attach proper lasers to our Fire Scouts so they can turn pirates to toast on the spot".

From there it's just a few small steps to reach the point where robot floor cleaners are commanding swarms of Fire Scouts via the internet and turning them against the U.S. Navy - Battleship toast, anyone?

If I owned a boat I'd be making a tin foil hat around about now.