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Robosaurus
wpiman writes "The US airforce released this picture of Robosaurus at an airshow. Robosaurus is a purely entertainment robot that stands some 40 feet tall and weighs 30 tons. It can pick up cars, bite them in half, and spits fire. No- it does not appear to run linux." If you look closely, you can just make out Homer and Marge in the car.
I saw this thing a few years ago (make that 8, god am I that old?). Let me clear it up for you:
Believe it or not, quite a few people go to airshows. And these people are a prime audience for a lot of advertising. So most of the performers are in their own business, and all the Air Force/Navy does is provide them a runway for a weekend. And Robosaurus is one of those. So no, your tax dollars were not spent on this thing.
If my answers frighten you, stop asking scary questions.
I vaguely remember seeing television commercials for car rallies and destruction derbies featuring Robosaurus over a decade ago. How slow a news day is it?
You're right. I remember seeing Robosaurus at a monster truck show around 12 years ago. I had to check the article twice to see if I was missing something. Maybe it was a newer version, they added some Weapons of Mass Destruction, etc., but nope. It's the exact same Robosaurus I saw years ago.
If you think thats cool. go here
http://www.srl.org
why slashdot doesnt follow their stories is a mystery.
*Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
Actually, the Robosaurus is quite interesting: it's a Waldo. The operator (and one passenger) sit in the head section, where the operator controls the machine's arm movements through by strapping himself into a movable restraint system. When the operator moves his arms, Robo makes the same movements. On the bot's page, the credit Heinlein and Aliens as inspirations. Pretty neat!
Believe it or not, quite a few people go to airshows. And these people are a prime audience for a lot of advertising. So most of the performers are in their own business, and all the Air Force/Navy does is provide them a runway for a weekend. And Robosaurus is one of those. So no, your tax dollars were not spent on this thing.
The Air Force and Navy are happy to host such events on their property, because the crowd these events tends to attract includes a lot of young males who are interested in machinery... a perfect demographic group for miliatary recruiters to advertize in front of. So for them, they consider it a fair trade.