From the Toronto Star, May 02, 2008
LONDON–A fleet of tiny tanks, each no bigger than a breadbox, cruising in remote-control formation down the dusty alleys of Afghanistan to neutralize roadside bombs…
…The Grand Challenge (detailed at www.challenge.mod.uk) was launched in 2006 in an attempt to solve modern military riddles …
… Several of the systems entailed futuristic flying bots built from scratch. Others, such as the fleet-formation ground system by the British firm Mindsheet, are adapting conceptual robot armies based on over-the-counter cars available at hobby shops everywhere.
“We chose not to reinvent the wheel but to work instead with the wheels readily available. That way we are able to more easily concentrate on providing a tool that a soldier in Afghanistan would be able to begin using immediately,” said Mindsheet managing director Raglan Tribe …
…”It is a weird extrapolation, the idea that war is becoming a scenario of `Your robots versus our robots,’ Why not just fight it out on a video game instead?” said Mindsheet’s Tribe. “But this is where things are moving.”
Read full article at www.thestar.com