Along with the expansion of expert system and the worry of human termination it motivates, robotic abilities continue to increase, a lot so that even man’s buddy isn’t safe from the risk of replacement, thanks to mechanized mongrels.
Almost twenty years back, Boston Dynamics brought to life the four-legged problem now called “Spot.” And while the business signed a promise to prevent the weaponization of such toolsother developers simply wish to see the world burn — actually.
A business called Throwflame, which produces weapons — who’d have thought? — revealed a robotic dog last month efficient in gushing flames from its mouth like a weird mecha-dragon. Its name? The Thermonator.
Much like its human — er, cybernetic organism, living tissue over a metal endoskeleton — equivalent played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in “The Terminator” series, it’s “Hasta la vista, baby” to anything and anybody captured in the Thermonator’s radius.
And as Throwflame notes, “In the USA Flamethrowers are federally unregulated and not even considered a firearm.”
So, no laws exist versus Americans purchasing, owning, and utilizing weapons for functions of their picking, consisting of ice melting, clearing brush, and insect extermination. Whether or not you trust Thermonator to perform these tasks, nevertheless, is something else completely.
In Season 4, Episode 5 of “Black Mirror” (“Metalhead”), robotic dogs take control of and methodically massacre most of humanity. And these versions didn’t even have access to sophisticated pyrotechnics.
Throwflame’s fire-breathing dog is a frightening addition to the lineup of manmade innovation that might switch on us.
See Spot bark. See Spot run. See Spot burn everything to the ground and leaving absolutely nothing however ash in his wake.
Observation Post is the Military Times one-stop shop for all things off-duty. Stories might show author observations.
Sarah Sicard is a Senior Editor with Military Times. She formerly acted as the Digitial Editor of Military Times and the Army Times Editor. Other work can be discovered at National Defense Magazine, Task & Purpose, and Defense News.
