“The company UBTech Robotics has secured a 264 million yuan contract—approximately US$37 million—to deploy its Walker S2 humanoid robots at the border crossings of Fangchenggang, Guangxi, starting in December.
According to the company, the robots will manage the “flow of personnel,” carry out inspections, and handle logistics. Humanoid robots do not get tired—well, they do get tired, but they are capable of replacing their own depleted batteries themselves. The Walker S2 has a self-replaceable battery, so operating costs are negligible compared to the costs of providing shelter, rest, and food for a human at a border crossing where reaching the rest of civilization is a logistical feat.”
uCannoTUnseEThiS on
This is getting closer to those scifi movies we all watched. Wonder how long before they malfunction and start doing weird things nobody expected!
sirscooter on
My guess is to start they will put them in places that it’s difficult for humans to be and they will be little more than remote cameras on legs.
Getafix69 on
The one country that doesn’t need to inflate their troop numbers is the first to start building a robot army.
This is one strange time line.
UnionGuyCanada on
Guard duty is the most boring, and in combat areas, most dangerous. You have a fixed location, you have set place to be usually, and you get bored doing nothing or the same thing over and over. Humans stop scanning well, generally, and if left for weeks, can check out.
Robots don’t have that issue. They will react the same way every time. They will notice something six months in and react the same way as they were programmed. Robots are also much more expendable.
BitingArtist on
It feels like it is inevitable to end up in endless robotic border wars until it consumes all labour, all resources from a country.
Tropical_Geek1 on
I seem to recall that there is a place on the China-India border where soldiers are not allowed to carry firearms. Now I am waiting for the footage of the first human-robot pole fight…
7 Comments
“The company UBTech Robotics has secured a 264 million yuan contract—approximately US$37 million—to deploy its Walker S2 humanoid robots at the border crossings of Fangchenggang, Guangxi, starting in December.
According to the company, the robots will manage the “flow of personnel,” carry out inspections, and handle logistics. Humanoid robots do not get tired—well, they do get tired, but they are capable of replacing their own depleted batteries themselves. The Walker S2 has a self-replaceable battery, so operating costs are negligible compared to the costs of providing shelter, rest, and food for a human at a border crossing where reaching the rest of civilization is a logistical feat.”
This is getting closer to those scifi movies we all watched. Wonder how long before they malfunction and start doing weird things nobody expected!
My guess is to start they will put them in places that it’s difficult for humans to be and they will be little more than remote cameras on legs.
The one country that doesn’t need to inflate their troop numbers is the first to start building a robot army.
This is one strange time line.
Guard duty is the most boring, and in combat areas, most dangerous. You have a fixed location, you have set place to be usually, and you get bored doing nothing or the same thing over and over. Humans stop scanning well, generally, and if left for weeks, can check out.
Robots don’t have that issue. They will react the same way every time. They will notice something six months in and react the same way as they were programmed. Robots are also much more expendable.
It feels like it is inevitable to end up in endless robotic border wars until it consumes all labour, all resources from a country.
I seem to recall that there is a place on the China-India border where soldiers are not allowed to carry firearms. Now I am waiting for the footage of the first human-robot pole fight…