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By Nick Heath, 28 February 2008 11:40

NEWS

Forget the cuddly C3P0 and R2D2 - the robots of the future may well share the murderous instincts of the Daleks, according to a robotics expert.

Terrorist robots and autonomous military machines wielding automatic weapons could soon be a reality, claims Professor Noel Sharkey.

The expert at the University of Sheffield - who was formerly a judge on cult BBC TV show Robot Wars - warned the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) of the beginning of an international robot arms race.

With plummeting prices of robotic components he cautioned that the killer machines could replace the suicide bomber as the terrorist weapon of choice – saying a small GPS guided drone with autopilot can be made for around £250.

Prof Sharkey said in a statement: "The trouble is that we can't really put the genie back in the bottle. Once the new weapons are out there, they will be fairly easy to copy. How long is it going to be before the terrorists get in on the act?"

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The US proposes to spend an extra $4bn by 2010 on unmanned systems, with total spending expected to rise above $24bn. More than 4,000 robots are already deployed on the ground in Iraq and by October 2006 unmanned aircraft had flown 400,000 flight hours.

Robot weapons programmes are underway in Europe and other countries such as Canada, South Korea, South Africa, Singapore and Israel.

China, Russia and India are also embarking on the development of unmanned aerial combat vehicle – with China believed to be able to match the US robotic programme.

Prof Sharkey said there was an urgent need for the international community to assess the risks of these new weapons before their use became widespread.