It feels weird to look at this thing.... YouTube - Boston Dynamics Big Dog

DARPA is the place for these projects. The most advanced tech in the world comes from the DoDs DARPA.

Its a bit crude but not doubt is an advanced step in robotics.

__________________

That thing looked pretty cool, ya it was not pretty but definitely performed well.

Agreed. It's not the prettiest thing in the world, but I'm simply amazed at how well it moves.

However, this is the thing that's supposed to be able to carry soldier's gear into battle for them (among other things) right?

they're gonna need to do something about all the noise it makes or our soldiers will be even bigger targets than they already are.

Still, pretty damn impressive.

__________________
"Yes. That's correct. Making a statement that's 100% true can't be bigoted."

Yes that is the goal of this program. To allow soldiers to carry even more equipment. More medical gear, heavy guns, shoulder fired munitions etc. This is a very good thing for the troops.

As far as the noise and such goes, I really do not think it will be all that big of a problem. The way the Army and Marines works now a days is normally in tandem with APC's any way. This would allow troops to off load the APC and be a little more self reliant outside of the vehicle.

Well, one way or the other it's a pretty damn cool little 'toy'.

But I do have a question:

How does it hold up against incoming fire?

for example, how would it do against a direct hit to one of its legs from a Kalashnikov?

__________________
"Yes. That's correct. Making a statement that's 100% true can't be bigoted."

That kind of depends this is still more or less an Alpha model. I would imagine that it will be rather vulnerable to small arms fire though. But it may be a different story by the time they are actually ready to field this. It is possible they could hang some Kevlar off of it to help negate the threat from small arms fire. Also I think this thing would be more of a rear support type of product. It would be close enough to snag ammo, supply's off of but far enough in the rear that it will not experience direct fire.

Amazing, it's computing skills must be unbelievible to handle the balance input to run, climb, remain standing after being kicked, recover from slipping on ice, and jumping.

It is currently too loud and slow to do anything directly in the military right now, but it is a close step to what the military will use someday.

__________________
Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

Actually, they've discovered the secret to making a robot stay upright; weak knees. If the knees are stiff and it gets kicked, the robot is going over. But if the knees are flexible, they absorb some of the force and it's a lot harder to tip it over. All it needs to be that stable is flexible knees, a gyroscope, and some pretty simple software.

Jumping, though, I'm not so sure on.

__________________
An' it harm none, do as ye' will.


Never argue with an idiot. He'll just drag you down to his level of intelligence and beat you with experience.

Even hanging Kevlar off it won't do much. Kevlar can stop stuff from penetrating into the body, but all the force behind the bullet is still hitting that target; just more diffused. Even if the bullet doesn't penetrate, a knock that hard might very well futz over the electronics.

I'd imagine that with Kevlar padding it could survive a hit from a 9mm pistol at 40 yards, but not a 7.62x39mm rifle at 100 yards. There's a hell of a lot of energy behind a rifle bullet.

__________________
An' it harm none, do as ye' will.


Never argue with an idiot. He'll just drag you down to his level of intelligence and beat you with experience.