Military Bases Breached: Are Pokémon Go Players Going too Far?

July 19, 2016

Pokémon Go, a mobile phone app, has taken the world by storm but are players taking it too far?

The role-playing game uses your phone’s GPS and uses your location and augmented reality to impose Pokémon characters on your screen and overlay them on top of what you see directly in front of you. “The game is centered on the concept of the Pokémon battle, similar to that of the video games,” according to Wikia. “The object of the game is to knock out six of the opponent’s Pokémon.”

The game has taken players from inside their homes and into the streets in huge numbers, all in the name of fun. But some people aren’t laughing or having fun at all with this new game phenomenon. In fact, the phenomenon is creating public safety fears including pedestrians being severely distracted and trespassing that can lead to arrests or worse.

For many gamers there seem to be no personal boundaries as to how far they will go, or onto who’s property they will tread to acquire their next fictional Pokémon character. While playing Pokémon Go a Frenchmen trespassed onto an Indonesian military base and was detained.

The 27 year old, Romain Pierre, was arrested and later let go, when authorities realized he had unintentionally trespassed unto the military base while hunting down Pokémon.

Although many believe the game could boost tourism to the city, according to The Guardian, security officials are very concerned that Pokémon could induce real security threats.

The United States is having their own issues with Pokémon Go. Safety warnings from the U.S. Military Joint Base Lewis-McChord, near Tacoma, Washington, have been released after the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum saw its fair share of Pokémon Go trespassers.

“DO NOT chase Pokémon into controlled or restricted areas, office buildings, or homes on base.”

As of now, no plans by the Department of Defense have been made to impose game guidelines around the Pentagon but they are asking players to be mindful when crossing roads and parking lots saying, “It’s a good idea to look up, away from your phone and both ways before crossing streets.”

 

Wow, did the Defense Department have to remind adults to be mindful of their surroundings? A new game has suddenly seemed to make the world lose their senses.

At some point the Defense Department may step in to protect its boundaries, and others, from the carelessness actions of Pokémon players if public and military concerns continue.

It will then be Pokémon Gone, game over, in many public areas.

By Lorra B.

Robots Taking Over Night Watchmen Jobs in the United States

Lost in Space Robot & Will Robinson

 

Move over, Will Robinson, and meet, Vigilant MCP (mobile camera platform), the new security robot that may shortly be assuming the role of night watchman in a business near you.

Vigilant MCP

What seemed to be purely fiction in movies, such as Lost in Space, may become a reality very soon.

These robots, designed by Denver-based Gamma 2 Robotics, will soon be available, commercially, around the world.

All robot manufacturing, according to Factor, will be done entirely in the United States. Mass production is expected as popularity and demand grows for this once only dreamt about technology.

Activists protest this development stating that, “While debate continues to rage about the threat of autonomous “killer robots,” the mechanized replacement of humans continues across the workforce,” reported Activist Post. “In fact, the robotics industry notched record sales in the first half of 2014 in North America, and there appears to be no indication of a slowdown.”

The Robot has a digital camera and many sensors that allow it to detect the presence of intruders. An alarm will be activated and an alert sent out. The Vigilant MCP will also be able to create heat maps to monitor cooling systems.

The Vigilant won’t call in sick, won’t be late to work and won’t quit their jobs, reports Gamma 2 Robotics. To many businesses, such as retailers, warehouses, and just about any business seeking night security, the Vigilant MCP is a welcomed solution. Also being cost-effective, the Vigilant will save employers from costly drug screenings and background checks.

Not everyone is thrilled, however, with the prospect of robots in our workforce. “At $4 per hour fixed cost, it could significantly impact the 1.5 million humans that are currently employed in some form of security patrol,” stated Activist Post.

“For professional security workers, the robot could pose a major threat to employment, as it offers key improvements for employers over flesh and blood workers.”

“For now, this model is slated to fulfill typical night watchman duties. However, it continues to highlight how the low operating cost of bots is bound to replace entire sectors of the economy while opening the door for yet another potentially dystopian scenario of weaponized patrol that is given increasingly free rein to operate without even minimal human oversight.”

While many are jumping for joy at the possibilities the Vigilant MCP and the implications of future advances in this field, others are horrified that the developments in robotic engineering are jeopardizing human jobs, especially those fields that employ low-skilled individuals.

“The numbers affected at present appear small, although no comprehensive data is available on this at present, but over time job loss to robots could become a major economic concern,” stated Factor.

See how the Vigilant MCP works in this video.

 

By Lorra B. Chief Writer for Silent Soldier

http://SilentSoldier.us