Awwwwww - Scooby Doo
Sad little robot story -- from
Gizmodo:
The Sad Story of a Real Life R2-D2 Who Saved Countless Human Lives and Died
Robots can't have feelings. But humans develop feelings for them. You know, like R2-D2 in Star Wars. Or like Scooby Doo, a real life small robot that saved the day 19 times. This is his single-tear story.
Scooby Doo was an iRobot PackBot. PackBots are 60-pound, treaded robots that are used for reconnaissance, surveillance, and bomb disposal. They have four cameras, an articulated arm with gripper, and flippers that allow them to go over obstacles such as stairs. They're tough, they're easy to control, and while they are used for domestic bomb disposal, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are where they've really come into their own. IEDs (improvised explosive devices) are the number one killer of soldiers there, and PackBots have become one of the best tools EOD (Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal) units in the Middle East have.
Scooby Doo was a damn good robot. During his deployment in Iraq he assisted in the disposal of 17 IEDs, 1 carbomb, and 1 unexploded bomb (which is always a major get for an EOD unit because of the intel they can gather about the bomb's maker). For every successful mission, the soldiers would draw a hashmark on Scooby Doo's head unit, similar to how fighter jet pilots mark the number of enemies they've shot down on the hull of their planes. Scooby became a member of a team with soldiers that relied on each other.
The death of Scooby Doo
But one day Scooby met his match. Maybe he'd gotten cocky, turned maverick. His ego writing checks his body couldn't cash. We'll never know. But Scooby Doo was killed in Iraq when an IED he was trying to defuse exploded.
Like Luke after R2-D2 saved the day on the Death Star's trench run, the veteran EOD unit member brought Scooby's body into the repair depot at Camp Victory and said "you've got to fix Scooby." The repair tech said that Scooby was beyond repair, but he could have a brand new robot. No, you don't under stand, this soldier insisted, Scooby Doo had be fixed. He did not want some damn new robot�he wanted Scooby Doo back. Scooby Doo was part of the team. He'd saved their lives. It was reported that this veteran soldier was visibly upset.
And this is not uncommon. EOD units have been known to promote their bots to titles such as Staff Sergeant, award them Purple Hearts, and even hold funerals for their fallen brothers in robotic arms. They assign them personalities, dispositions. Some have even taken their robots fishing with them and let them hold the pole. Regardless of whether you call that camaraderie or laziness, I would argue that it's bonding. It's not hard to see where Scooby Doo's team was coming from. If your dog had been critically injured, and you took him to the vet, and the vet said, "Sorry, can't fix him, but how's about a new dog?" you'd tell him to go procreate with himself, your friend is not so easily replaced.
There is a photo of the little guy at the Gizmodo website.
Brings to mind the old saying about how you should not anthropomorphize robots -- they do not like it.
I can not imagine what it must be like to be an EOD -- to lose one of your comrades -- even a titanium and silicon one -- must be heartrending. Live on in our hearts and prayers Scooby Doo!!!
Hat tip to
Bayou Renaissance Man for the link.
Posted by DaveH at January 3, 2012 9:49 PM