US Defense budget allocated to Robotics grows (a lot)

While the US Defense Budget shrank a little bit (by 4 percent overall), the fraction allocated to robotics apparently grew.

From CNET.com we have: "The budget includes a myriad of cuts, but there are also some interesting additions that show the military's increased interest in robotics and communications, particularly in unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)."

From the NY Times: "“F.C.S. is Army modernization,” Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma, said of the Future Combat Systems, a program that links soldiers with weapons, robotic sensors, a communications network and combat vehicles. "

They are also planning to shift emphasis from their own satellites to commercial providers. I guess it's only a matter to time until tanks come with a Google Earth console and a Blogger.com interface.