Posted on 09/14/2008 10:08:26 AM PDT by traumer
The US army is poised to unleash the dogs of war – four-legged, petrol-powered robots to help its troops in battle.
Billed as ‘the most advanced quadruped robot on Earth’, BigDog has been devised to support American troops by carrying up to four packs of equipment on awkward terrain unsuitable for wheeled vehicles.
Standing at over 2ft tall and more than 3ft long, BigDog comes equipped with all manner of high-tech gadgets, including laser gyroscopes, a video camera sensor system and a sophisticated on-board computer – but, sadly, no wagging tail.
The 11 stone machine, created by Boston Dynamics, can trot along at up to 4mph – although researchers are hoping to create a much faster version capable of travelling at 22mph – and will even stay on its legs when it is kicked hard in the side.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Here boy. Good dog.
Careful, until their housebroken, you can expect to find little piles of “C” cell batteries you’ll need to clean up.
what about a mule? costs a lot less....
Scary looking beast on the video link. Something creepy about the way it moves yet you know its not alive. I say mount machine guns on them and turn em loose on the islamos.
That version is two years old. (at least)
I want to see the new one!
I would like to see a machinegun and grenade launcher on that thing.I would pay money to see the looks on some jihadi faces as a hundred of them came charging up the street.
Eventual top speed of 22 MPH?
According to the novel, “The Terminator,” the CSM-101 ran that fast.
However, it’d be more impressive if it were based from a spider than a dog. You can take out at least four of their legs until it’s immobilized. And, they need to arm the thing.
What's it worth to have a mule that you can send back on it's own for more ammo?
Well, Dr Who had K-9.
thank you darpa!
It seems pretty impressive already, considering what's been accomplished so far. Why do people have this knee-jerk need to trash new prototypes, only because it's not as good as it'll be twenty years and many versions later?
Yah, that newfangled gun-thingy will never catch on. We should stick to our proven crossbows. Look what happens when the powder gets wet. It’ll never work.
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US army unveil latest weapon - the robodog of war
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My guilty pleasure are the future robotic “spiders” and “dragonflys”
that the US military will likely employ in the next urban-landscape war.
Envisioning some Haji in a sniper hideout or deep in a cave watching
a swarm of “spiders” and/or “dragonflys”...not knowing which of them
has a small packet of explosives ready to frag him.
These guys will run out to be rescued after they see one of their
fellow terrorists get blasted by one of these robots.
They’ll need a clean change of underwear and long-term psychotherapy.
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