Created by Nick Greenlee, this short Visual Effects piece shows us the real war that’s waged with Mac vs PC. Robots beating the crap out of each other. Great little video.

The “flying beer keg,” aka the Honeywell gas-powered Micro Air Vehicle, is operational and troops have been trained. Time to party. Well, no, it’s not really a beer keg after all. It’s a spybot that will be sent to Iraq to “hover and stare” at war zone hot spots.

It’s a well known fact that hovering and staring makes people nervous. But it also collects data. The reconnaissance keg uses fans to float in the sky almost silently and send back video. The gMAV is the first of many such drones that are being developed to fight the futuristic war while also reminding us of beer.

[wired]

The WAR (Weapons Against Robots) defense company wants you to be ready when robots start to take over, going all PEW PEW and cracking human necks. They’re developing a bunch of anti-robot technology, including autonomous against autonomous weapons systems(AAA), and BAA (biological against autonomous) weapons systems, and even robotic viruses. They even provide a service where you can hire their threat analysis service to “provide you with details of threats, time lines, likely capabilities and casualty estimations.”

It may be a publicity stunt, but it’s still a good idea. It’s apparently a serious business launched by British entrepreneur Ben Way with the goal of “protecting us from the threats of a robotic future:”

We here at Botropolis know all too well the dangers of living hand-in-hand with a city full of robots. Just last week we had a Serial-killing cyborg that liked to wear it’s victims skin and yesterday a robot over at the car factory went rivet happy on the faces of 20 human employees. The androids they had on security/medical duty there just cheered. I had to call in the Riot Squad and clean house. And I aint too happy about it as I’m up for re-election.

[Telegraph]

For the first time in human history, an unmanned machine has engaged and destroyed another unmanned machine in real honest to God combat. It happened a week ago in Iraq, when a MQ-9 Reaper killed a remote controlled vehicle that was carrying a bomb. Sounds harmless enough. Now stop and think. I know, doesn’t look good at all does it? Hunker down in your robot-proof bomb shelters if you’ve got one.

The MQ-9 was operated by the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance and Attack Squadron and it destroyed the RC vehicle via a laser-guided 500-pound GBU-12 bomb in southeast Iraq. Can full scale robo battles be coming? Count on it. One day we may even choose to fight “honorable” and “Humane” wars using only robots.

Soon after they’ll come for us meat-bags and it will be time to face what we have created. Running like hell and crying in a corner is always an option and I’ve got new shoes.

[Aviation Week]