New 'Terminator' Robots Go in Harm's Way

June 19, 2008 -- IRobot, best known for their cute Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, has teamed up with Metal Storm, purveyors of the million-rounds-per-minute electric gun, to create a slick, Terminator-like war robot for the U.S. military.

The as yet unnamed war bot is being marketed for "border patrol" and "crowd control" scenarios, although other military situations are also under consideration.

"We want our soldiers to have the option of controlling a robot that could go ahead and investigate, engage or deter an enemy and not put human soldiers at risk," said a spokesman for Metal Storm who wished to remain anonymous.

This new war bot will likely soon join the existing ranks of military robots deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The U.S. military has used various war bots, from both iRobot and its competitor Foster-Miller, for years, primarily to diffuse bombs and other unexploded ordinances.

The first armed robots appeared in Iraq in 2007 as part of Foster-Miller's SWORDS program. They were armed with M249 light machine guns and received limited service in Iraq.

Since then robot armaments have increased. The Metal Storm/iRobot robot can be equipped with a variety of weapons, from non-lethal rubber bullets to grenade launchers. As many as 12 different Metal Storm weapons can be put onto the iRobot platform at the same time, said a Metal Storm spokesman.

The difference between Metal Storm weapons and other guns is the firing mechanism.

Traditional guns rely on a firing pin to physically strike the flat end of a round resting in the firing chamber, creating hot gases that propel the bullet down and out of the gun barrel.

A Metal Storm gun however, fires the bullets electrically, not physically. Pull the trigger and an electrical charge from a battery is sent down the barrel of the gun, triggering the chemical reaction that sends a bullet flying.