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Gunship Tech Talk: Bots 10/27/2013 3:44:37 PM
The next episode in the Gunship Tech Talk series takes a look a the wonderful world of bots! In “Gunship”, Captain Campbell and her crew encounter a lot of high tech weapons and killer robots that they have to destroy or outsmart. Some of the more interesting bots, based on feedback from my readers, are the security bots that the team is forced to face while onboard Crazy Ray’s space station. The inspiration for these bots came from current research on military swarm capabilities that seek to develop bots that can easily infiltrate areas to collect intelligence, monitor enemies and maybe even take out the bad guys without having to put boots on the ground. The Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) project is focused on doing just that. These miniature bots will be able to be carried and deployed by soldiers to collect intelligence or create tactical advantages over the enemy by relaying their position, numbers, weapons and weapon types to friendly forces. A troop can control multiple bots via laptop to map a building, detect threats, locate improvised explosive devices and traps, or conduct route clearance. All without having to expose himself or his teammates to danger. These bots mimic behaviors of bees, dragonflies, even spiders and millipedes but with the added ability of providing a high tech stealthy way to infiltrate the enemy camp.
Recently, DARPA unveiled their first small scale silicone robot which uses air and fluid to move over a diverse array of terrain and can also modify its color and temperature as it moves to prevent detection. While still a slow mover at 120ft/hr this bot’s color changing capabilities allows it to blend in with its environment, changing within 30 seconds to match its surroundings. The silicon body also allows the bot to maneuver through tiny openings to get to its target. This is just one example of the bots being developed under DARPA’s Maximum Mobility and Manipulation (DARPA M3) Advanced Inflatable Robot (AIR) project. These bots are cheap to make, highly mobile, and highly survivable. And the applications for this type of technology are unlimited. While most people are aware of the military applications of such technology there are also applications for emergency management and disaster recovery to help locate people trapped under rubble and vector forces faster to their air or the ability to observe natural processes and wildlife without causing disruption to the environment.
The United States Air Force has also been working on developing bots that are called “nano-drones” that can travel over long distances to gather intelligence on enemy forces while evading advanced anti-aircraft and anti-ship systems. Some of you may already be familiar with these newest bots from their rendition of the James Bond theme on YouTube or from Joss Whedon’s latest epic series “Agents of Shield” which highlights the use of a small swarm of analytical drones to help out Agent Coulson’s science team on their missions. Fast, light, small, and undetectable, able to penetrate any border anywhere to gather intelligence or potentially take out a high value target. And refueling? No problem – another series of bots will meet and dock with them mid-air to allow them to recharge their cells for the next leg of the journey. The engineers designing them so they have a modular set up so anyone deploying these tiny robots can gear them up for any number of missions.
If you’re ready to start testing out your own “swarm” you can buy a team of 10 Kilobots from K Team Mobile Robotics. Or if you have enough money, you can help enhance security for your home or workplace. Or your country. Brazil will be hosting some big events coming up in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. Their choice for security? The iRobot PackBot 510 robot. More than 5,000 of these robots have been fielded in support of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan to clear routes and detect explosives and the Fukushima nuclear power plant crises. They are all terrain, all weather, bots capable of capturing 400 facial images per second, detecting airborne threat signatures and running explosive ordinance detection for long periods of time to aid police and military members during major events. And these are only a few examples of the rapidly growing market for specialty security bots that can swarm and synch. DASH, RHex, SWARM and AR Drone, M-Blocks, bugbot and many more are out there just waiting to prove their worth on the battlefield, in the lab or in your home. Yup, no doubt about it, bots are pretty cool, kinda scary and they are here to stay!
You can expect to see more swarm bots launch into action in Book II of the Reilly Campbell Chronicles due out late next year. But until then, check out the below excerpts from Gunship on bots or better yet get your own copy from iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Vook or Amazon today!
Excerpt #1:
Tiny finished her cuts as the first whining sounds began to echo in the shafts. It sounded like the drone of angry hornets in the distance, a lot of them. She paused as Reilly and Marek looked around at the noise.
“What’s that buzzing?” Ty mumbled.
Tiny looked back at Reilly and Marek. “Trouble. We need to go now.”
“Well, that’s going to be kind of hard. We still have one more hull to breach to even break out of here,” Reilly noted.
Tiny turned to Marek. “Get the sergeant up here.” She deftly maneuvered the cut metal plate out of the ceiling. The air was frigid in the space above, the metal of the outer hull doing little in the way of providing insulation to the station. Marek struggled with Ty’s weight in the small space as Tiny clambered into the area between the hulls.
“Are you trying to get us killed?” Reilly whispered. “If that soft seal isn’t set right when Chang breaks through, we could all get pulled into space, which is a problem, because if you recall we don’t have any exposure suits!”
Tiny turned, shooting a ferocious glare at the captain. “You hear that noise? That is the sound of some very nasty bots coming to kill us. If we are in this shaft when they arrive, we will be turned into ground meat. So I’d rather risk a possible bad seal than certain death down here.” Tiny grabbed Ty and hauled him up into the interior hull, dragging him slowly while she duck-walked backwards with her handheld. Finally, she saw the light of the plasma cutter breaking through the outer hull a few meters away. Meanwhile, Marek nervously looked down the shaft behind them as the droning noise started to get louder.
“All due respect, ma’am, but I’m in favor of taking my chances with the Gunny on this one,” Marek said as he aimed his blaster into the darkened shaft behind them. Reilly watched with him, training the blaster Tiny handed her over his shoulder at the humming blackness.
Tiny slid back out and motioned Marek to climb up with Ty. “As soon as the Gunny is through, push the Sergeant and yourself up into the accessway. There is a chance you may suffer some exposure, but you will survive it as long as you’re within the accessway, even if it breaks loose.”
Tiny motioned at Reilly to follow them up. The captain started to go, then looked back at Tiny.
“And while we’re all hiding up there, what are you going to be doing?” Reilly asked suspiciously.
“I’m going to be drawing fire and buying you time.” The Gaiden smiled forcefully.
“All right.” Reilly stepped up next to Tiny, who looked at her, annoyed.
“You are in no shape to deal with security bots,” Tiny stated. “I can handle this myself.”
“I’m sure you can.” Reilly smiled grimly, still unmoving.
Tiny shook her head and shoved the plate back into the hole she had cut as Marek started to protest. “Take Ty and go. We will find another way off and meet you at the rally point.” She sealed them in.
“Are you always this hard-headed, Captain?”
“Always. So get used to it.”
The droning grew louder as the metal in the shaft began to vibrate.
“Stay low and shoot at the part that is lit up. They will come in waves. The first ones to reach us are a recon element. They will transmit to the others to get them to swarm on our location.”
“So you’ve dealt with these before?” Reilly asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, I take it as a good sign, then, since you’re still alive.”
The Gaiden looked at her briefly. “That’s only because there were five others in front of me when they swarmed. I was the only one to make it out.”
Excerpt 2:
The corridor outside the detainment wing bustled as a security team rushed to secure the area. Their boots beat loudly over the raised flooring, drowning out the growing droning noise as they passed the nearest air vent. The vent gave a quick shiver and then shot into the hall as the rearmost team members turned at the noise. They brought their weapons up, waiting to see if their fugitives were about to emerge.
Instead, two metallic insects about the size of coffee cans popped out, a strange light emanating from their undersides as they scanned the corridor. Immediately they began to match the faces of the men nearest them to their most wanted database. When neither was confirmed as a positive match, the bots promptly stunned them, knocking them to the floor as they continued on, attempting to identify their prey. In moments they were joined by the rest of the swarm as the corridor flooded with the grinding buzzing of bronzed wings and the alarmed cries and thumps of stunned personnel.
In seconds, the corridor was clear of the bots. Only a trail of stunned bodies left behind gave any indication of their presence. Welch watched furiously on his handheld from the lead drone as the swarm rushed through the corridors, stunning and seeking, with no sign of Campbell or Ty.
Want more? Check out Gunship, Book 1 in the Reilly Campbell Chronicles today!
