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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."
Let's see... mules are animals. How could a machine possibly be better than an animal?
A machine won't get spooked by gunfire
a machine won't start making mating calls that alert the enemy to your position
a machine won't take massive shits that a tracking dog could smell
a machine doesn't die if it gets thirsty - you can go get more fuel and come back to it a week later or a month later.
I can see a whole lot of applications where a live animal wouldn't be as useful. Perhaps we should get rid of all the motorcycle police and make them use horses, too?
I just don't know why anyone would ever call it a "pack mule" when its real name, "BigDog", is so much cooler.
Also, did anyone watch the movie of BigDog? It looks really creepy, actually. I guess I was subconsciously expecting to see, oh I don't know, a big robotic dog, maybe Bell from "Bell and Sebastion" with metal instead of fur. Intead BigDog looks more like something you would frantically blow away in Starship Troopers before it rips your head off with its long insect-like legs. If I had one, I think I'd want to attach something to it that looks like a little like a head, at least. When they kick it, and it moves its legs to keep from falling over, I squirm. It's like it's ALMOST alive, but not quite.
Mules, horses, camels, and others that I can't think of have been used since before recorded time. And they have always been a logistical nightmare, which is why they were replaced as soon as motorized vehicles became reliable enough.
A mule eats and drinks every day. It can carry its own food and water, but that means it carries a lot less of what you needed it to carry. Or you spend a significant portion of your day foraging, which means you aren't accomplishing your mission.
Gasoline has a very good energy density. A truck can easily carry the amount of fuel it needs to go 100 miles, with most of its payload available to you. Most of the load for a mule or horse to go 100 miles would be its own food and water. Plus, a mule eats even when you aren't moving. A truck doesn't.
Ships are the most efficient form of transportation, but can only go where there's water. Canals take time to build. Railroads are almost as efficient, but laying track is expensive, and the tracks are vulnerable. Trucks are less efficient, but roads are easier to build. So it comes down to logistic efficiency and infrastructure. An engine-powered walker needs the least infrastructure, while keeping most of the efficiency.
This article rules. It shows that the Slashdot readership has grown quite diverse... as in diversely not nerds :-P
Since when do Slashdot readers feel the need to criticize large government agencies who fund R&D for building robots?
Jeez people. This thing is cool.