U.S. Military using Wiimote-controlled Packbot to disable bombs

by Griffin McElroy { Mar 29th 2008 at 8:30PM }

We like the way the U.S. military thinks. One of the Wii's biggest flaws is the painful stretches of downtime between its bigger releases, causing dust to settle on Nintendo's minuscule console and cobwebs to form on our Wiimotes. What better way to get more mileage out of our neglected gyroscopic peripherals than to use them to blow up actual bombs and landmines?

This must have been the thought process of those techno-wizards at iRobot, who have modified their Packbot model to be controlled by a standard Wii remote. It seems they discovered that Nintendo's motion-sensitive controller doesn't just lend itself to instinctive, natural interaction with games like Wii Tennis, but also with maneuvering rifle-mounted, explosive-detonating robots -- just remember to always use the wrist strap. Impaling a TV screen while hitting the Wii Bowling lanes is embarassing, throwing the reigns of a gun-toting war machine is just plain irresponsible.

Tags: bomb, irobot, military, nintendo, packbot, robot, wii, wiimote, wiiremote

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neebs @ Mar 29th 2008 8:34PM

iRobot has created the Roomba of war.

LordMinogue @ Mar 30th 2008 12:49AM

Not really. The Packbot is used for reconnaissance and bomb disarmament, not fire support. They are NOT machine-gun toting robots [whoever wrote the linked article should have at least read the wiki before publishing]. The smallest armed, fielded robot I know of is 'Gladiator,' which weighs 750kg (the Packbot weighs 18kg).

Kalroy @ Mar 30th 2008 3:12PM

Yeah, what Lord Minogue said. SWORDS is armed, but the military is uncomfortable with it and frankly, I'm with them on the whole MK.I. Human Eyeball and judgement thingy in that regards.

Now you wanna see a robot that is really cool, check this one out... http://www.defensetech.org/archives/003572.html
This thing is nifty.

Kalroy

Myke @ Mar 29th 2008 8:35PM

haha, wow

Swampy @ Mar 29th 2008 8:39PM

You know what's funny? This article makes it sound like these robots are used a lot. Sadly, these are only called in when a bomb looks big enough to level 5+ blocks. Other than that, the good ol' US Military still uses regular people.

Token White Guy @ Mar 29th 2008 8:51PM

Just don't make them self-aware.

Phillip @ Mar 30th 2008 11:52AM

"Look, I gave him a six-foot extension cord so he can’t chase us."

DangerMouse @ Mar 29th 2008 9:03PM

Finally some third-party action!

Jerk Face @ Mar 29th 2008 9:40PM

The fact that no one else complimented you on that Comedy Fucking Gold is a shame! Good work, pal! (+)

ApolloIV @ Mar 29th 2008 9:15PM

Works better with a Gamecube controller

ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ Mar 30th 2008 2:27AM

Exactly my thoughts.

J @ Mar 29th 2008 9:17PM

And as we have seen, can be used up to 300+ feet away!
Bringing new meaning to Nintendo Power.

jcd @ Mar 29th 2008 9:18PM

I guess this is some sort of basic experimentation into alternative input methods. Using them in the field would just be plain stupid.

Necki @ Mar 30th 2008 7:48AM

Why would this be a bad thing?
the british army uses the Xbox 360 controller to control UAVs (Unmanned aerial vehicle) because of its ease of use and relative cheapness.
Why not use the wii-mote it works as well as anything else?

Kalroy @ Mar 30th 2008 3:14PM

As I recall the M.U.L.E. also uses a game controller, though it's still in the development stage.

Kalroy

eatrice @ Mar 29th 2008 9:39PM

I clicked on the article...they are still using the picture of the remote sans speaker with a huge connector for the numchuck. You would think the army would use the one with the speaker so it could tell them if it was a bomb.

They are certainly up to date.

The Artist formally known as Jesus @ Mar 29th 2008 9:58PM

The PS3 is curing cancer
The Wii is fighting terrorism
And the 360 is um..... doing something

Arturo @ Mar 29th 2008 10:07PM

It's fulfilling its gaming purpose as a gaming console is meant to.

(Sorry I couldn't resist)

michael @ Mar 29th 2008 10:20PM

the 360 is helping keep houses warm

Easo @ Mar 29th 2008 11:22PM

http://www.visit4info.com/details.cfm?adid=50526&version=6
http://www.army.mil/-images/2007/02/02/2287/army.mil-2007-02-02-091945.jpg

And this beast of a machine uses a 360 controller and a racing wheel to get the job done.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,332755,00.html

Worst Review Ever @ Mar 30th 2008 1:45AM

I can just picture the optional 24 tie-in.

Chloe: But Jack, this tech has never been used in the field.

Jack: Damn it, Chloe, just let me use my Wii!

LaughingTarget @ Mar 30th 2008 7:08AM

Kim: I'm here to ruin the whole season!

Worst Review Ever @ Mar 30th 2008 12:33PM

President Palmer: Is your Wii in good hands?

Cabcru @ Mar 29th 2008 10:11PM

So is there a danger of someone's life being at risk while the operator pops down the off-license for a pack of new batteries?

hvnlysoldr @ Mar 29th 2008 10:17PM

No Glove No Love.
Don't Ask Don't Tell.

RabbidMickeyMouse @ Mar 29th 2008 10:28PM

Looks like wiihaveaproblem.com may have to get better servers in the future.

hvnlysoldr @ Mar 29th 2008 10:40PM

Life has just imitated art. R.O.B.s are going to detonate bombs set up by the terrorists who want to rip the world into their own.

chimp o death @ Mar 29th 2008 11:37PM

Nobody told this stupid robot that bomb defusings are meant to be done with mouse and keyboard. Anything else is n00b territory.

Mr.ESC @ Mar 30th 2008 12:12AM

Wiikill huh,see I told you the Wii wasn't kiddy.

WLT @ Mar 30th 2008 12:22AM

I wonder if iRobot is considering to sell these to the public with optional flamethrower?

Shagittarius @ Mar 30th 2008 12:23AM

A nuke is really just fissle material and a small detonation load duct tapped together.

playwhutyalike @ Mar 30th 2008 1:16AM

Before disarming bomb make sure Wii-mote strap is attache------BOOM.

WiiSports Machine...Fernandos in disguise PSN: Killjebus @ Mar 30th 2008 1:39AM

Will the mainstream anti-game media report this? What an ingenious idea for the WiiSports Machine Wiimote. This is a wonderful example of a simple yet incredible use for it. I would assume that this control method is very intuitive and easy to do. Knowing it will be just a little bit harder to kill and maim our troops with IED's.

Golf clap for the person and or people involved in this. I am curious as to what is cooking up next for new innovative uses for the Wiimote.

Nintendo got at least one thing right in the design of it's WiiSports Machine. A controller that thinks outside the box of conventional input devices. If someone at the Big N would have insisted on this new control method have comparable hardware with Sony and Microsoft, this generation hardware battle would have been OVAH.

The WATER on the fire of the WiiSports Machine is its HORRIBLY gimped hardware. The Wii's fire has burned so brightly that it is rapidly nearing the end of it's fuel supply.

I hope this use for the Wiimote continues to save lives until "most" (who are we kidding, we will never leave Iraq) of our boys come home.

Shagittarius @ Mar 30th 2008 2:39AM

The fact that this tech is not unique to the wiimote reveals this to be just another group of enthusiasts using the wiimote where they could have used any version of the accelerometer available for many years.

Synner @ Mar 30th 2008 7:05AM

Dude, we still have people in bosnia, this shit is going to last forever.

WiiSports Machine...Fernandos in disguise PSN: Killjebus @ Mar 30th 2008 10:50AM

True Shaggy, I have to believe that the ergonomical design has more to do with it.
Synner, all Empires must expand or die. The United States is the biggest, baddest, Empire to ever exist on planet Earth. I said it just after 9/11, all the Terrorists did was give the United States the excuse to attack whoever she wanted to.
What we are doing in Bosnia is the right thing and I am glad we are still there. If we left, the Serbs, Muslims, and Croats, would tear each-other apart yet again.

hvnlysoldr @ Mar 30th 2008 2:13AM

"See it is a murder simulator"

jorojoserojas @ Mar 30th 2008 3:39AM

Now you're playing with power!

Mr.ESC @ Mar 30th 2008 5:49PM

LOL Indeed.

I don't think the ESBR will look nicely to this game.

Curmeo @ Mar 30th 2008 9:10AM

atleast the waggle remote isnt a gimmick for something.

Stephen 'Rockjaw' Reid @ Mar 30th 2008 11:26AM

Test to make dumbass comments work

freelance @ Mar 30th 2008 2:54PM

"One of the Wii's biggest flaws is the painful stretches of downtime between its bigger releases, causing dust to settle on Nintendo's minuscule console and cobwebs to form on our Wiimotes."

I don't even know where to start at about how asinine, misleading, and properganderish this statement was.

*And don't freaking comment on my use of properganderish.*