TER General Board

Re: Darn thing is too noisy and not stealthy enough otherwise, and
Claudius42310 13 Reviews 79 reads
posted

the noise problem is fixable.

Uh.  I have to admit, this video makes my skin crawl - but it is also fascinating and pretty cool.

Edited to add - I also found this information, presumably about that very robot. o.O http://www.dodsbir.net/SITIS/display_topic.asp?Bookmark=34565  That's wild!

-- Modified on 10/31/2008 6:56:41 PM

-- Modified on 10/31/2008 6:57:21 PM

Hard to believe sometimes. I even checked snopes but they had nothing on it. That's crazy!

it has joints and ligaments it’s creepy. What are they going to do with it? This is all we need is an other killing machine.

I'd prefer that we spent less on developing new killing machines and more on making sure the troops have adequate body armor and vehicle armor. But then again, the profit motive drives the military industrial complex, not patriotism.

Shows really well how far robotics have come and will go in the future. This is really damn cool.

b-

current generation aerial drones are vastly more stealthy and efficient than this goober could ever be. However, the balance and dexterity of this thing has potential in other areas where unmanned exploration or observation may be of interest.

Guy linked below creeps me out too... even though they're being facetious :P

I'm not giving away anything by stating that certain marks of aerial drone can laser designate a target for a precision strike on a large or small scale. Very useful toy in the mountains of Afghanistan....

-- Modified on 11/1/2008 7:29:29 AM

Cool but what is it good for and how much did it cost?

of components is all wrong. Nobody would build it this way. It would be smaller (no need to be that big, consume that much energy, it would be low to the ground, it would have more legs, probably two different kinds, one for speed and one for maneuverability. There are many things wrong with this picture, but it was fun to participate in the conversation anyway.... and I did not want to be the first to spoil it.

-- Modified on 11/1/2008 7:50:39 AM

I had an appointment to see a lady from one of the local agencies.  Traffic was light, so I was about 35 minutes early.  I will not wait in a hotel parking lot, so I drove past the hotel and into a small industrial park.  As I was getting further into the industrial park, I heard an extremely loud noise that kept getting louder and louder (sounded like about a hundred leave blowers and chainsaws operating at the same time).

I pulled around a curve in the road and saw the robot in the video above moving through a parking lot.  There were about twenty guys standing in a group off to the side and one guy in an orange vest holding the biggest damned controller I've ever seen (it was actually strapped to his chest to help hold it up).  It's hard to tell size from a video, but the one I saw was camouflage, looked like it had Kevlar mats strapped to it, but appeared to be bigger than the one in the video.

I pulled over and watched for about twenty minutes.  That had the thing going up an embankment at the rear of the lot, and then had it transverse the embankment at a roughly forty degree angle.  One of the coolest things I've ever seen.

By the time I pulled back out to go to my session, there were six or so other cars that had pulled over to watch.

So, it is real, and I can see the potential, but it sure is freaking loud.

BTW, it was a great session afterward.

and where technology is concerned, I find that I discount many things if they have no military value..... but thanks for your "testimony"

"testimony" (I don't quite understand that reference).

Being a former ground pounder, I can think of quite a few uses for a robot that can negotiate uneven terrain and over obstacles, boldly going where I wouldn't have to first.  In fact, I would hazard to wager that some guys in Afghanistan would love to have something like this go into the caves first with video and/or armament capabilities. They'd have to work on the sound and size though, but I would guess that this is a prototype.

Then again, Master Chief, and not to get into an Army v. Navy thing (which can be fun), there probably wouldn't be a use on a ship for something like this (other than to quell a mutiny). LOL

agreed. it certainly has straightforward and clear military applications. DARPA has done stranger far things.

as a prototype, i am certain that the size and noise excesses can be cured.

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