Real-Life Transformer Could Be First Robot to Fire in Combat
Seth Porges

Armed bots in Iraq and Afghanistan haven't shot, but the shape-shifting MAARS might change that in January.

When robot-maker Foster-Miller strapped machine guns onto a trio of bomb-disposal bots and sent them to Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007, the company created the first armed robots to be deployed in a war zone. Still, no robot has ever actually fired a shot in combat. "Weaponized robots represent a new technology that is only in the developmental stages," says Duane Gotvald, a deputy at the Pentagon's Robotic Systems Joint Project Office.

That could change now that Foster-Miller is set to ship the Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System (MAARS), an armed robot with Transformer-like abilities. "It can be changed from one mission setup to another in short order," says Charles Dean, the company's senior program manager for advanced robots. Operators can alter the machine's treads, drive system, weaponry and even its dimensions.

One thing that won't change is who decides to pull the trigger. MAARS doesn't have a mind of its own: A soldier commands the bot through a video-and-map-enabled remote control.

MAARS Specs

• Armed - Or Arm: An M240B machine gun can be swapped like a drill bit for a bomb-disposing manipulator arm.
• All-terrain: Tanklike treads that can climb curbs - or stairs - can be switched with wheels, allowing the bot to hit more than 7 mph.
• Long leash: A controller guides MAARS from more than 1 kilometer away; if reception is weak, the robot shuts down to avoid mishaps.

***