# Robots with full-auto shotguns are too powerful to ignore **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 20, 2009, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robots-with-full-auto-shotguns-are-too-powerful-to-ignore/486697 "2009-02-20T09:05:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robots-with-full-auto-shotguns-are-too-powerful-to-ignore/486697/1 "2009-02-20T09:05:43Z")
[The military shied away from Jerry Baber’s AA-12 fully-automatic shotguns, so he built robots that carry them](http://zokuga.blogspot.com/2009/02/appalachian-automatic-shotgun-toting.html): > [@](#): > > The gist of the story is that the AA-12s have so little recoil (scroll to bottom of the post to see video of a sub-100 pound woman firing it on full-auto with no problems) that it makes the perfect gun for small robots (also in the video below is footage of a mini-helicopter using the AA-12 with out knocking itself out of the sky). Of course, he hasn’t stopped with building the things. He has plans: > [@](#): > > Such robots could, for example, roll out and defend a soldier wounded in a firefight. A larger ground robot, meanwhile, could be outfitted to carry six smaller ones - “so when it blasts its way in, now you’ve got seven robots in that building.” Large armed robots carrying smaller armed robots, because until now wars weren’t enough like 1980s arcade games. Were you freaked out by Teddy Ruxpin? I kinda was, and now I have a further reason: > [@](#): > > The founder of Robotex, Baber’s partner for the ground-robots, formerly worked at the company that developed Teddy Ruxpin, the talking teddy bear. In town you’re the law, out here it’s Teddy Rambo. Of course, the inventor is a good ol’ boy in Piney Flats, Tennessee, so he knows how to have a good time: > [@](#): > > Driving the robot back inside, Baber said, “If I never sell the first one, I’ll be here until I’m a hundred years old, sitting around playing with 'em.” I don’t have any comment for that, just barely-restrained envy. But wait, there’s more! [They’ve added these remarkably deadly firearms to autonomous helicopters!](http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/01/neural-robotics-incorporated-equips-autocopter-with-12-gauge-sho/) > [@](#): > > We’ve seen a number of autonomous helicopters in our day, but most of them just fly around showing off their avoidance and maneuvering skills and snapping the occasional photo or vid. Well Neural Robotics Incorporated has just made their AutoCopter minicopter a lot more, um, interesting by adding an AA-12 12-gauge shotgun to the nose of the hovering sentry. Neural Robots Incorporated’s next product has the code name “Kill Sarah Connor”. ---
**Author:** ![AllWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@AllWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllWalker)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robots-with-full-auto-shotguns-are-too-powerful-to-ignore/486697/2 "2009-02-20T09:48:17Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Large armed robots carrying smaller armed robots, because until now wars weren’t enough like 1980s arcade games. Heh. Awesome. > [@](#): > > Neural Robots Incorporated’s next product has the code name “Kill Sarah Connor”. Heh. Awesome. ---
**Author:** ![puppygod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@puppygod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puppygod)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robots-with-full-auto-shotguns-are-too-powerful-to-ignore/486697/3 "2009-02-20T09:49:08Z")
My personal favorite is [SWORDS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWORDS) - not because it’s some kind of cutting edge outstanding machine, but because it’s _already_ used by military. Plus, I like armament options like “six barreled 40 mm grenade launcher”. ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robots-with-full-auto-shotguns-are-too-powerful-to-ignore/486697/4 "2009-02-20T09:50:33Z")
Get back to me when the smaller robots are capable of firing bees, and the bees have chainsaws. No, that’s too harsh, they could also fire bees without chainsaws, or miniature chainsaws without bees. Shotgun wielding robots that also wield robots that wield shotguns is cool and all, but without either bees or chainsaws it’s just not quite cool _enough_. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robots-with-full-auto-shotguns-are-too-powerful-to-ignore/486697/5 "2009-02-20T11:45:48Z")
> [@3trew](#): > > Get back to me when the smaller robots are capable of firing bees, and the bees have chainsaws. No, that’s too harsh, they could also fire bees without chainsaws, or miniature chainsaws without bees. > > Shotgun wielding robots that also wield robots that wield shotguns is cool and all, but without either bees or chainsaws it’s just not quite cool _enough_. [Batman is horrified at your statements.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beeweapon.jpg) He is, however, still prepared. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robots-with-full-auto-shotguns-are-too-powerful-to-ignore/486697/6 "2009-02-20T15:15:03Z")
I love the AA-12. It’s a gorgeous piece of mechanical design. It doesn’t even need to be cleaned! ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robots-with-full-auto-shotguns-are-too-powerful-to-ignore/486697/7 "2009-02-20T16:01:33Z")
Imagine getting rolled up on by them bad boys. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robots-with-full-auto-shotguns-are-too-powerful-to-ignore/486697/8 "2009-02-20T17:32:35Z")
> [@3trew](#): > > Get back to me when the smaller robots are capable of firing bees, and the bees have chainsaws. No, that’s too harsh, they could also fire bees without chainsaws, or miniature chainsaws without bees. > > Shotgun wielding robots that also wield robots that wield shotguns is cool and all, but without either bees or chainsaws it’s just not quite cool _enough_. Plus some ill-tempered sea bass with frikkin’ laser beams.