"Robots"

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Candice: Welcome to Cracker Croakers. I'm Candice Bergeron, your hostess with the mostest.

Colton: And, I'm your other host Colton Wyatt. Attention all robots! The United States military needs you...now!

Candice: That's correct, Colton. And, these robots are not wanted for fighting. At least, not yet.

Colton: They won't take up arms, but the companies vying to build them are engaged in a battle royal for a half-billion dollar contract to construct three thousand of these backpack-sized robots.

Candice: Robots already serve in the Army. They scout enemy positions and diffuse explosives.

Colton: Five thousand robots of various shapes and sizes are envisioned for the Army alone.

Candice: China and Russia reportedly have already invested in sea, ground, and aerial robots.

Colton: Drones made by the Chinese company DJI are suspected to have the capability of spying on the United States. This led to their ban for use by soldiers in 2017.

Candice: At a defense exposition held in Egypt in December some US companies reported seeing Chinese versions of their robots.

Colton: These fears of Chinese robots came to fruition in a bitter competition between the Massachusetts-based Endeavor Robotics and the Israeli firm Roboteam over major contracts to construct the newest generation of Army ground robots.

Candice: These robots are designed to be more easily deployed than the remote-controlled rovers that have helped the Army for the last fifteen years.

Colton: The largest contract, one estimated to be valued at some 429 million dollars, requires twenty-five robots that are lightweight, maneuverable, and easily carried by infantry soldiers for long distances. Also, in late 2017, a 100 million dollar contract was awarded for a midsized reconnaissance and bomb-disabling robot called the Contaur.

Candice: Well, that about wraps us up for another edition of Cracker Croakers.

Colton: In that case, smarty-pants, I suppose we better say adieu. She's Candice!

Candice: And, he's Colton!

Candice and Colton: And, we invite you to join us again tomorrow for another entertaining edition of Cracker Croakers (Featuring Candice and Colton).

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