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" 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. &amp;quot;Weaponized robots represent a new technology that is only in the developmental stages,&amp;quot; says Duane Gotvald, a deputy at the Pentagon&amp;#039;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. &amp;quot;It can be changed from one mission setup to another in short order,&amp;quot; says Charles Dean, the company&amp;#039;s senior program manager for advanced robots. Operators can alter the machine&amp;#039;s treads, drive system, weaponry and even its dimensions.  One thing that won&amp;#039;t change is who decides to pull the trigger. MAARS doesn&amp;#039;t have a mind of its own: A soldier commands the bot through a video-and-map-enabled remote control. EARLIER: First Armed Robots on Patrol in Iraq TECH WATCH: Uzi-Toting Mini-Bot Shoots to Kill RESIDENT ROBOTICIST: Top 5 Robots That Own You 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. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a4130/4230309/>