In situations of bomb disposal, possible toxic hazards or other times that you would legitimately want to lessen the possibility of danger to an officer then robotics is a wonderful and much needed technology.
However, robotic technologies meets Taser™ and now we have a whole new set of parameters.
On 28 June, Taser International of Arizona announced plans to equip robots with stun guns. The US military already uses PackBot, made by iRobot of Massachusetts, to carry lethal weapons, but the new stun-capable robots could be used against civilians.
“The victim would have to receive shocks for longer, or repeatedly, to give police time to reach the scene and restrain them, which carries greater risk to their health,” warns non-lethal weapons researcher Neil Davison, of the University of Bradford, UK.
Here is a story on how quick officers are to use tasers. Here is an account of two incidents of misuse of a taser;
OLBERMANN: San Francisco may have a police problem, or it may have a police problem caused by the mayor and the chief. But it could be worse, it could all be in Franklin, Ohio. There an officer allegedly tasered a great grandmother. Five times. And it was all caught on tape.
According to police, 68-year-old Beverly Kidwell came to the station to be arrested for having hit her granddaughter. {ed note: Adult granddaughter} The lieutenant seen tasering her on this surveillance tape says she was resisting arrest. But Kidwell says she had been waiting a long time in the lobby when she got up to leave, the officer started firing. She said he kept tasering her even when she was curled in a fetal position on the floor. Ms. Kidwell had to be taken to the local hospital after the incident. She is now suing that police department.
And it gets worse. A kind of combination of previous two stories in Hamtramic (ph), Michigan. 32-year-old officer Ronald Depuis, now charged with assault and battery after he got into a dispute with his partner Officer Prima Graham (ph). He want her to pull over to a convenience store so he could get a soda. When she didn‘t, Officer Dupuis reportedly tasered her in the leg. He has been fired. His partner did not suffer any serious injuries.
If officers if while in possession of the weapon and close proximity to the “victim” are this free in their use of the taser, how much more free will they be while operating a robotic device?
The graphics and chatter on this site look more like an ad for a video game than a report on a robotic devise which could ultimately be used to injure or kill a “suspect”. As if training didn’t already desensitize officers the use of robots further removes them from the humanity of the situation.
These robots can also be equipped with pepper spray. Think of the ease with which officers can send in these robots to disrupt and end any type of protest or rally.
Who will the citizens complain to? And what can be done against machinery? This offers the perfect blend of control over the populace and protection from them. As the technology develops will we see Robocops in our future?
Part of the premise of that movie is the privatization of the police force. Perhaps at the time it was made that seemed unlikely, but as governments now sell our services and resources to the highest bidder it may not be so far fetched.
Further Reading;
TASER Forms Strategic Alliance with iRobot
Robot infantry get ready for the battlefield
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