Robotic 'Pack Mule' with Impressive Reflexes

moon_monkey writes "New Scientist has a story about a nimble, four-legged robot that can recover its balance even after being given a hefty kick." From the article: "The project is sponsored by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), who want the robotic pack mule to assist soldiers in terrain too tough for vehicles. Ground-based soldiers often need to carry 40 kilograms of equipment. Raibert says the latest version of BigDog can handle slopes of 35 - a steeper gradient than one in two. The hydraulics are driven by a two-stroke single-cylinder petrol engine, and it can carry over 40 kg, about 30% of its bodyweight. The robot can follow a simple path on its own, or can be remotely controlled."

Comments

Why not just use ... a live mule?

[jimmyhat3939]

Why is this better than just a mule? Let's see... Mules eat plants and grasses found naturally in the area. The electronic mule requires electricity. Great if you're in a city in the USA. Bad if you're in terrain thats "too tough for vehicles".

Re:Why not just use ... a live mule?

[Fluffy the attack ki]

Perhaps we should get rid of all the horse police instead, make them use motorcycles... Or we could continue to use the best transportation for the task at hand.

First: Yes, an untrained mule may be spooked be gunfire. On the other hand people have been training horses to go into battle for thousands years. Worst case scenario your packmule runs from behind cover and gets shot (assuming the enemy would bother shooting at fleeing livestock in the middle of a fight).

Second: Mating calls from a mule? Mules are sterile, do they even make mating calls? Better question: Do they make mating calls LOUDER THAN A 2-STROKE ENGINE?!?

Third: Poop stinks, gotta give you that. So does gasoline though. Don't know enough about tracking dogs, their abilities, or their use in militaries around the world to guess how much of an issue this is.

Fourth: If the gas tank runs dry the machine DOES TOO die. The fact that you can send out a retrieval team later to recover it is of little help to the people in the group it was attached to. This thing is designed to operate in areas where conventional ground vehicles can't go, which means no gas trucks go there either. Also, if your robot mule dies for some reason you can't cook and eat it.

Looking Real

[hhawk]

The most interesting thing is the "natural" looking motion of the "legs". At first I thought it was two guys up in some custom faking it as a robot! They are so natural!

The video delivers what is promised but notice that when it does go up that steep hill there is no 40+ kg of weight on it...

It also seems a bit to loud and well, in need of some body armor.

Re:its BigDog, not "pack mule"

[klack]

I also felt it was creepy. I think we just reached the Uncanny Valley.

Let's see here...

[Cerebus]

A 1,200 lb mule can carry up to 240 lbs of pack, eats grasses found nearly everywhere, will be reasonably quiet when well-treated, is smart enough not to walk off a cliff when the mule skinner isn't paying the best of attention, and will cost you under US$2000 per head. In addition, we know mules can be combat-trained, as mule trains were used to pull artillery on battlefields, and when worse comes to worst, you can eat it.

This thing can carry a bit more, eats gasoline, makes as much noise as a gas turbine, will happily stroll into harm's way, and will likely cost on the order of a luxury car per unit. While there will be no training needed, when it breaks down it's just so much spare parts.

Part of the reason for wanting something that can go anywhere is that the trucks you currently have *can't*. So how are you going to refuel the mechanical mule? Can this thing pack enough spare fuel *and* have enough capacity left to be useful?

I think I'll stick with the mule.

Re:Cost comparison?

[_Sharp'r_]

The advantages are pretty easy to see.

Pack mules need to be fed even if you are just storing them in a camp. This thing can be packed tight in a box until you need it, then you just feed it the same gas that you feed your other vehicles. You're already shipping gas, but you aren't shipping much mule food to the camp. Sure, one the move a mule can eat some grass, but that becomes harder in the middle of the desert or while being shipped across the ocean.

Also, it's much harder to resupply a group under dangerous conditions with mules being led than it is with something you can remote control a group of across that same dangerous territory. As far as weight ratios, some of them can carry gas for the others, while those others carry what you want delivered. It's the same system trucks use.

Plus, I imagine (based on previous darpa results) these will end up quite a bit faster than mules are.

Picture remote controlled, locally autonomous truck convoys dropping these things off for the "last mile" delivery to the troops in the hills and you'll see where all this is going.

Of course, eventually they'll also use them for surveilance placements and then remote controlled combat.

Beer mule

[jimmydevice]

Finally, something that can carry a full keg, across abusive terrain and not fall down in a druken stupor. I see a great future renting these for senior class keggers. Maybe integrate the walker into the keg, So if the cops show up, and a little AI ( lots of shouting and the words "freeze assholes" ) it can run and hide in the forest with all the other kiddies.

Jim.