What's one thing missing from the battlefield? One thing that would really look out of place in all those explosions and that dying thing people tend to do? A teddy bear of course!
Introducing the latest weapon of mass destruction from your friends at the US military! Ok, it's not going to be taking out any terrorists anytime soon but it has it's very own purpose on the battlefield;
The Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot (BEAR) can scoop up even the heaviest of casualties and transport them over long distances over rough terrain. - BBC News
See what they did there, with the BEAR thing? New Scientist magazine says that the 'friendly appearance' of the robot is designed to put the wounded at ease. Right, so if I was lying in the middle of a battlefield in extreme pain and a teddy bear hopped along and said 'Come with me if you want to live!' I'd probably freak out and believe I was going crazy due to the pain.
There is one problem I have with it though. What's going to stop the enemy firing at this slow moving target and blowing it to fluffy little pieces? Common sense would dictate that they don't send it out under fire. Instead, the robot will be used to navigate difficult terrain and disaster areas, meaning other soldiers lives will not have to put their own lives in danger. The thing is, if I was lying injured somewhere I'd much rather have a fellow soldier helping me than some faceless robot - even if it does have the 'bear-like' face. Well, as long as it doesn't look like this anyway;
Bear robot rescues wounded troops - BBC
Vecna Robotics
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