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-160

Dell should secure Military contracts to sell more hardware

-160 points posted to Dell, Desktops and Laptops by reg 04/02/07

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The new Reaper combat drone is ready for combat.

Dell should look into developing small combat computing systems.
Not as big as a Reaper, more on the size of the personal kill-bots, spider-mines,
and other mobile anti-personnel and anti-vehicle weapons made popular in SciFi and Video Games.

The New Dell Combat Systems can be easy for troops to deploy to fortify defensive positions.

The DCS can implement the newly developed Combo Battery/Explosive
- Under normal power draw conditions, the battery pack acts as a regular battery.
But also has a dual function, when engaging a target, the battery activates a total discharge,
in combination with explosive gel, the battery+gel acts as the ordinance in the device.
This design saves space in the Kill-Bot / Spider Mine, for easier transport and deployment.


Military contracts tend to be worth Millions or Billions of Dollars,
with guaranteed revenue from government contracts, as long as the contractor delivers.

Dell delivers excellent notebooks and desktop systems,
it's time to expand into other, much more lucrative product lines.

andy_zhang
04/02/07
You must be a fan of Star Wars...
reg
04/03/07
There are many new and innovative hardware programs in development for:
1. military equipment,
2. non-leathal technology, and
3. active combat systems.

Robotic mobile transport systems such as the 'Big Dog' Walking 4-Legged Pack Mule Robot.

Amazing Video of Walking Robot



New hardware such as the 'Big Dog' provide an active role supporting troops and assisting with troop movement.

Dell could also work on non-lethal / less-lethal technology

similar to the Active Denial System

.
The ADS uses a millimeter wave source
to create a very unpleasant burning 'on fire' sensation if you enter the field of effect.
Useful to prevent entry into DMZ areas, secure areas with less man power, and protect troops stationed at checkpoints.

For more combat orientated hardware, for example
the SWORDS (Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems) robots
are equipped with M249 gun which fires 5.56-millimeter rounds at 750 rounds per minute
or the M240 7.62-millimeter gun firing at up to 1,000 per minute.


If your wondering, this is a serious post.
I know a lot of people stationed overseas and would prefer they stay safe and sound.
Let the technology and robotics help protect and secure areas to the best of their ability.

Dell could develop a separate business unit that works on government and military appications,
many new contracts and technologies are up for bid, and Dell could bring its advanced knowledge to
the table, securing new contracts protecting American resources.

Texas is the very center of the USA, it seems natural for Dell to step up to the task
of delivering new technology in the defense of it's country.
reg
04/03/07
Of course,non-military pascifists and people who wouldn't protect their wife or children from criminals

might demote this idea, but there are very large profits to be made on any military equipment,
standard electronic equipment, or combat equipment.

Dell could get in on those big profit margins, and serve their country at the same time.
Good for business, good for the USA, Good for Dell.
benjesuit
04/03/07
LOL. Reg's at it again. :)~
petzymathuram
04/03/07
Hi reg,

Dell can extend it's help to Military but not necessarily on the negative side. Please do not pollute Dell.
steveoc
04/03/07
We use a lot of Dell kit downunder here in the _development_ and simulation of weapons systems.

But we _deploy_ on ... other gear.
steveoc
04/03/07
That big dog thing looks a lot like 2 guys in a dog suit, except it has this absolutely horrifying aspect to it. It looks sort of 'wrong'

Anyone remember this video clip here .. this is one of my favs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmfMcnuRWh4
reg
04/03/07
Quiz time:

Would you rather:

1. Walk point and poke at the ground with a 10' wooden stick looking for IEDs

2. Have a little robot that rolls down the road 500 meters in front of you,
with some subsonic sensors scanning for voids in the ground,
detecting IEDs while you, your buds, and the Hummers are still well far off from it.


Dell doesn't have to get on the 'polluted negative' side of warfare,
(I didn't realize there was an Up side to war).
Defensive bots that detect hidden explosives, find and eliminate land mines,
find hidden people (snipers and campers), etc. Big Money = Big Profits.

Idea Storm exists to help Dell rebound and grow.

Dell is never going to 'grow up' just selling PCs
- Everybody sells PCs - it is a commodity market.



And like any commodity market, the margins shrink down to the least common denominator.
No Huge profits to be made.

Military spending is at an all time high, not including national security spending,
border patrol security, and lots of other projects we shouldn't talk about In Front of the Children.

People keep whining about ''Look at all the money they are spending on the Military!''
Well, from an OEM supplier point of view:
'OMG - Look at all the money they are spending on the Military!!!'

Dell wants more profits?
Expand the vision, the innovation, and the types of products you produce and sell.

But, maybe your right?

Maybe Dell is to weak to step up to the plate and deliver hardened, real-time, combat ready systems and software.


Leave the hard work up to Real Men.
flooted
04/03/07
There is very little commercial value in technology development for weapons detection and eradication. It is an important though largely marginalized humanitarian sector, which militaries become involved in from time to time usually for their own protection. Dell should help develop such technologies, fund and support other humanitarian actions that have technology implications - OLPC comes to mind.

The idea that it might be good for Dell to invest in the killing machine could only be supported by a person who has never personally witnessed the devastation of warfare. Nothing is more terrible than having a friend or relative killed in conflict, to have their limbs torn off. This is not a video game...go have a look at the real thing sometime!
reg
04/03/07
Hopping Land Mines

Robotic Land Mines that can roll and hop through the air to 'fill in the gap' after one of their own blows up,
or simply to chase down some poor fellow and blow him in half across his belt line...

flooted - YOU are supporting hundreds of new robotic killing machine projects with your Tax Dollars.

? Are Combat Robotics supported only by a "person who has never personally witnessed the devastation of warfare"?
- On the contrary, most robotic combat units are being developed by the most seasoned soldiers on Earth.
They much rather would operate in safety, while leaving the battlefield risks with the robots.
Within the next 10 years the USA will be fielding the most advanced war fighting machines conceived by man.

Killer Robots are not Science Fiction.
Killer Robots are Big Business:
reg
04/03/07

Automated Tank and Vehicle Systems:

(Small robots to hunt/kill targets. Larger Tank sized robots to storm and dominate whole towns and cities.)



reg
04/03/07
Vertical Climbing Robots:

(No Hiding from robots above and below.
Good way to root out snipers.)

reg
04/03/07
SuperBot - Modular Robotics -Baby Steps into a new tomorrow :

(Modular parts self-assemble and rebuild themselves into any shape or configuration.)

reg
04/03/07
SuperBot - Track Configuration - On the Move (good for chasing down a running target.)

reg
04/03/07
Reconfigurable Robots use Adaptive Insect Behaviors:

(A robotic SWARM of thousands of these little armed beasts would render the battlefield solider obsolete.)

reg
04/03/07
4 Metal Storm Grenade Launchers + 1 TALON robot = Zero Day for Target.



reg
04/03/07
That's some of the public stuff - there is more, much more, but I can't post it.

Military Robotics is one of the fastest growing sectors for technology.

But - if you don't like it, never mind.
Dell can stick to the cheap stuff, if that's all they are good at.
jervis961
04/03/07
reg
04/03/07
FRIGGIN' LASER BEAMS!

OH, BY THE WAY,
IF YOU ever SEE
THIS BUG COMING YOUR WAY
-
RUN AWAY !




"I don't know what technology will be used for World War III,
but I do know what they will use for World War IV - Sticks and Stones."
steveoc
04/03/07
Thanks reg - that is really eye opening stuff that leaves me feeling uneasy.

Re your Quiz time question I have several different answers depending on the military situation.

1) In patrol mode : Absolutely not. (I served in the Oz army as a rifleman - first scout/point man), There is no way in hell that any device would be of any use in this role, clomping and whirring and buzzing around. Id much rather go point in patrol against an army of noisy robots rather than against a small group of cunning, disciplined and experienced guys.

2) In an assault : They have some limited use in softening up a target (much like the german goliath robot from WW2), but tat the end of the day, its bayonets on the ground and a strong voice of command that converts an area target from one side to the other. Much like tanks and strike aircraft - they are just support assets that offer mobility and firepower, but they cant be used to take and hold ground. Thats always going to be the role of some grime covered grunt with a rifle, a bayonet and an attitude.

3) In a prolonged war - the direct aim is not to inflict damage on the enemy .. its to break the enemy's will to fight. No matter how much 'overwhelming force' you bring to the table, you can only 'win' when the other side adopts your ideas. As long as they believe they are right and you are wrong, they will keep fighting. Without dragging in contemporary examples - you have to put yourself in the enemy's shoes and ask if seeing you resort to such 'cowardly tactics' as using robots to do a man's job - or bombing civilian infrastructure - or using chemical weapons ... does that convince them that you are better than them, or does it strengthen their resolve that they are fighting a morally bankrupt opponent ?

4) In a police action / counter insurgency role - its just point 3 all over again, but morals play an even stronger role. You get much better milage from building hospitals, schools, fresh water, sanitation, religous and cultural tolerance, roads, improving agriculture, providing computers ?, etc, etc - basically 'RESPECT' for your enemy than you do from trying to wipe them out.

But I think you already know this, and like the shocking US prison revelations, you are pointing out more ways in which Pax Americana isnt always working.
reg
04/03/07
Well, in regards to #3 - if you were on the other end of an American war,
and opened up your door one morning, to discover34,000 of these crawling all over the street,
you might close your door and go back to bed!

reg
04/03/07
Governments will
be buying these units by the ship load

as soon as they are available for purchase.


reg
04/03/07
The above commercial is for a possible future product - it does not exist.

Yet.
reg
04/04/07
Automated Multiple Grenade Launcher: "None Shall Pass!"

Click Image to download video:



flooted
04/04/07
Has all the design qualities of current Dell computer, so you could be right about a transition into the industry for them.
reg
04/13/07


April 2007: 6,000 Robots deployed to Iraq & Afghanistan.

reg
04/15/07
Well The iRobot Scooba only mops floors, but Dell could get in on the Robot Revolution
reg
04/29/07
Did you watch Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and
actually cheer on the robots vs. Jar-Jar's planet Naboo ?

Then you know you are a true techie!

The whole movie - I was thinking of design improvement for the robots army,
no single point of failure, better mobility, improved combat logistics, alternative weapons, innovative attacks, etc.

I felt that the Trade Federation guys bought the lowest bidder robots - sigh, they got what they paid for!

I think Ripley from Aliens would have handled Jar-Jar's home planet with Ease:

"Nuke the Planet from Orbit - it's the only way to be sure."

steveoc
04/29/07
Replace all users with robots ...

When THAT day comes, we will see massive advances in productivity.

The customer will experience some productivity gains, as the robots will be able to work 24x7

.. however, the biggest gains will be seen for the developers of software, since they will have long clear periods without phone calls
to actually get some work done for a change. It will bring in a new golden age of software developrment.
reg
04/29/07
steveoc - Great Idea!
- those organic wetware modules are buggy, unreliable, and prone to hard failure, with a very poor chance of rebooting ever again!
reg
05/27/07
Could be a Dell Powered System.
reg
06/20/07


Michael Dell - Lord Of War
petzymathuram
06/20/07
Hi Reg,

Your picture is hidden, it is not visible. Please activate your picture. Let me also have a look on what your comments say.....Rephrase your comment... "Reg- Lord of Wars"
reg
06/20/07
SLASHDOT: "The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency plans to develop a fleet of robots that soldiers can deploy in urban
combat settings as they move through houses and along streets. The program, dubbed LANdroid, envisions miniature autonomous
drones that can form a network capable of relaying radio traffic in a setting often considered challenging for communications equipment.
According to a notional image of a LANdroid included in a DARPA pamphlet, each robot will be about the size of a deck of cards, and must be
rugged, lightweight and able to operate for seven to 14 days, the agency said. Demand for technologies to improve the military's ability to fight
in urban settings has increased in recent years because many of the operations in Iraq take place in Baghdad and other Iraqi metropolitan settings.
DARPA officials will provide additional information about the program during a July 6 industry day."


LANdroids: Attack!

Ok, the secret is out - here comes the robot army.
Now will Dell get on board with this or let all that profit potential pass on

http://fs1.fbo.gov/EPSData/ODA/Synopses/4965/BAA07-46/BAA07-46LANdroidsPIP.pdf
reg
06/24/07
Prepare For Final Battle . . .

Make. Your. Time.
petzymathuram
06/25/07
Hi Reg,

According 2 George Washington, "War - An act of violence whose object is to constrain the enemy, to accomplish our will"
A hidden mighty force that keeps the whole world under control.
What do you say reg? ;)
reg
06/28/07
Camper SniperBots Suck!

jorge
06/28/07
Make computers not bombs! Although a computer guided missile might be an exception?
petzymathuram
06/29/07
Hi reg,

I am not able to view this picture ;(
 
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