The various buttons and physical actions on the Wiimote would activate certain responses, such as throwing a grenade or sweeping for land mines, faster than having to look down and operate a specific key. "You really need two people to run the current system; one to run it, another to guard that person," said Jason Slater of robot manufacturer Foster Miller. "With the Wii remote you can give the soldier operating the robot more awareness of his surroundings." Along the way the robot even creates its own map of the area, so when a button is pushed the robot will find its own way back to the soldiers, even if they have changed positions. The Wiimote-controlled robot works fine in test conditions, but a battlefield is a rougher place. Before any new robot control device is used in combat it must be significantly "ruggidized," said Slater. The hardware and software on the Wiimote would also need to be improved, to improve accuracy and ensure the robot can't be hacked. Updating hardware and software would take significant time, so far Foster-Miller has no plans to market a Wiimote-controlled robot anytime soon. "I think you'll be seeing a lot more new and unique ways to control things like military robot, especially as sensors and other technologies are miniaturized," said Slater. "But we are still a long way from the popular image of fully autonomous robots walking around."
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