Steam decks used to control machine guns

[sgreenberg]

Summary

 A facebook account showed images and the background of a machine gun, called Sablya, being remotely opperated via steam deck.

 

Quotes

Quote

 

Images shared on ТРО Меdia's Facebook account (h/t GamingOnLinux) show various aspects of the turret design and soldiers deploying it for testing in a field. In one of the seven images, a remote operator is seen clearly holding a shiny Steam Deck, with the machine gun turret in the background. It would be even more interesting to see what the remote control interface looks like, but perhaps the interface/UI is a military secret.

 

TPO Media shared some brief background information on the remote machine gun turret alongside the photos. Called 'Sablya,' the turret is an "automated remote controlled" device, which suggests that the turret might operate with some degree of autonomy. It's possible that, as well as manual remote monitoring, aiming, and firing, the Sablya may be able to be programmed with the Steam Deck to mark targets and let the gun do its job as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

 

My thoughts

What are the chances that the steam deck runs steam games when it is on break?

 

Sources

 https://www.tomshardware.com/news/steam-deck-controls-a-real-ukrainian-army-machine-gun-turret-report 

[CTR640]

Asus ROG Ally is 2x faster so they gonna add more and better machine guns. 

[Arika]

omg, a computer is used to control things a computer would control!

[Taf the Ghost]

I have two thoughts.

 

First, they've been using Xbox Controllers on remote weapon systems for over a decade because military personnel are used to the command interface. (Heck, professional sport leagues use them for replay stuff, haha.) So, nothing is really surprising about that.

 

Second, of course a Valve product will be at the heart of the Robot Apocalypse. At what point in the last 15 years wasn't that obvious? The Gaben is Eternal.

[Franck]

4 hours ago, Arika S said:

omg, a computer is used to control things a computer would control!

it's not like general atomic invented a weapon in 1995 that had fpv camera and equipped with weapons and that could be remote controlled.

Remember Apple invented the cellphone and Kim Jong-Un invented the wheel.

[Doobeedoo]

Let me controll it with a mouse to see what happens.

[GhostRoadieBL]

Waiting for the leaked tiktok of the first 360 no scope irl

[Techstorm970]

"Computerized targeting system put on different computer."

 

On the other hand, having the Steam deck operate a machine gun sounds like the most Valve thing ever.

[Vishera]

10 hours ago, Doobeedoo said:

Let me controll it with a mouse to see what happens.

Some drone systems have mouse and keyboard:

 

And there was the time when the US Army used the Playstation 3 in their server farm:

[Why_Me]

54 minutes ago, Vishera said:

Some drone systems have mouse and keyboard:

 

And there was the time when the US Army used the Playstation 3 in their server farm:

I still game with a trac ball ^^

[CarlBar]

1 hour ago, Why_Me said:

I still game with a trac ball ^^

 

I used that exact mouse model for at least a decade and only upgraded to it's wireless version when it stopped being produced, (i went through 2 of the wired version,in both cases the left click broke). Still using the wireless one.

[Why_Me]

40 minutes ago, CarlBar said:

 

I used that exact mouse model for at least a decade and only upgraded to it's wireless version when it stopped being produced, (i went through 2 of the wired version,in both cases the left click broke). Still using the wireless one.

Tough to beat a trac ball imo for those who play first person shooter games.

[divito]

Remote systems for machine guns/rifles have existed for a long time, with similar utility as a Steam Deck (screen and analog controls). Only natural that some applications would make use of the hardware. 

Other systems are moving to VR-like setups as well.

[StDragon]

On 4/28/2023 at 6:59 AM, Franck said:

it's not like general atomic invented a weapon in 1995 that had fpv camera and equipped with weapons and that could be remote controlled.

I had fun with that weapon in UT3; it was called the "Redeemer". I miss that game.

[mrMad-Cat]

1) Why was this never mentioned at Teched Linked?!

2) I doubt that there is a big point in using such a powerful device for this job and I think there could be simpler chipper alternative. Especially considering that the device does not possess any military level specification, like water resistance, impact resistance, high working temperatures range, etc. l think it was chosen primarily due to its popularity.

3) Though it is a top gaming device, it is much cheaper than any special military alternative, much more accessible, and gives much more flexibility for developers. The same situation is with consumer drones, like Mavic and others, that became primary weapons in today's war and give much more flexibility for such price than any "real" military drone.

4) What many ordinary people in the "West" do not understand, is that Ukrainian soldiers today are in majority just boys of 18-35 years of age, who are protecting their homes and families. They all grew up playing CS, CoD, WoT, WoW, etc., they are very tech-savvy at сonsumer level and higher. Ukraine has one of the highest percentages of population with high educational levels in the world, and is one of the leading countries in programmers. So, it can't be surprising that, combined with high motivation due to the need in survival, such experiments are pretty common at low and mid levels, and many of them, if effective, result later in mass production, primarily financed by different charity/donation programs by Ukrainians and people from other countries.

[suicidalfranco]

On 4/28/2023 at 8:59 AM, Arika S said:

omg, a computer is used to control things a computer would control!

Don't you know? The deck is not a computer cause it has a touchscreen and doesn't come with a keyboard and windows

/S

[jagdtigger]

In other news the water is wet......

[Senzelian]

I wonder if the Steam Deck's gyros and touch enabled joysticks play a role in this. They might be the reason why they chose this over any other device. This is actually a lot more interesting than you guys think. 

[IkeaGnome]

2 hours ago, Senzelian said:

I wonder if the Steam Deck's gyros and touch enabled joysticks play a role in this. They might be the reason why they chose this over any other device. This is actually a lot more interesting than you guys think. 

Realistically, they probably tried a Switch first, but as soon as it connected to the internet they got banned and Nintendo sued them. 

 

Mostly /s

[Hassan170]

On 5/5/2023 at 6:43 AM, IkeaGnome said:

Realistically, they probably tried a Switch first, but as soon as it connected to the internet they got banned and Nintendo sued them. 

 

Mostly /s

Nintendo suing a military for using their products in a war because it doesn't fit their "Family-Friendly" image would be the most Nintendo thing ever.

_{the more I think about it, the more plausible it sounds}

[Hassan170]

On 5/5/2023 at 6:43 AM, IkeaGnome said:

Realistically, they probably tried a Switch first, but as soon as it connected to the internet they got banned and Nintendo sued them. 

 

Mostly /s

They also weren't keen on using 7-year-old hardware. What games would they play after a nice day of defending the country? Smash Bros. ew no thanks

Boot up COD on the Steam Deck and pwn russian blyats after pwning them IRL

[suicidalfranco]

6 minutes ago, Hassan170 said:

Nintendo suing a military for using their products in a war because it doesn't fit their "Family-Friendly" image would be the most Nintendo thing ever.

in current year that would more of a Sony thing that Nintendo