"Bear" Robot to Rescue Wounded Troops

Jim Hall writes "The US military is developing a robot with a teddy bear head to help carry injured soldiers out of combat. The "friendly appearance" of the robot is designed to put the wounded at ease. The 6ft tall Bear can cross bumpy ground without toppling thanks to a combination of gyroscopes and computer controlled motors to maintain balance. It is expected to be ready for testing within five years. 'It is also narrow enough to squeeze through doorways, but can lift 135kg (500 lbs.) with its hydraulic arms in a single smooth movement, to avoid causing pain to wounded soldiers. While the existing prototype slides its arms under its burden like a forklift, future versions will be fitted with manoeuvrable hands to gently scoop up casualties. The Bear is controlled remotely and has cameras and microphones through which an operator sees and hears. It can even tackle stairs while carrying a human-sized dummy.'"

Comments

errr

[geekoid]

Give the robot a menacing look with red eyes, a gun, 500 pounds of Ammo, and leave the troop home; Also embed an explosive.

Re:errr

[SydShamino]

If you find yourself wounded in the middle of a firefight, which will make you feel more comfortable - being carried out by a carebear that wouldn't hurt a fly, or being carried out by something that looks like it will decimate any opposition in its path?

Actually, I'd rather be carried out of the battle by something with a big Red Cross or Red Crescent symbol on the side, with no offensive armaments at all. While certainly some foes ignore the conventions of war, any foe is justified in shooting an armed piece of technology with an RPG.

No need for soldiers

[khendron]

If the thing is so sophisticated that can navigate rough terrain in a hostile arena and carry someone back, why not give it a gun and let it do the fighting? Then there would be no wounded to carry back.

Re:No need for soldiers

[DingerX]

You've hit upon it. That's exactly what they're gonna do. Give that giant teddy bear (how can you call it a Teddy Bear if it don't have fake fur?) a gun and send it out to shoot the wounded. Much easier to program than carry them back. Plus, nobody would ever suspect the teddy bear.

In all honesty, humans are extremely effective at recovering wounded from hostile zones. They only cases where they are not effective, a giant white Robot with no situational awareness and an inviting teddy bear look would be even less useful, and the support and maintenance would be a PITA. Someone's gonna look at the cost and complexity of this, and decide it's got no battle value.

Then someone will have lunch with the constructor, and a budget line will mysteriously materialize.

But, let's be serious: if we ever have an army of hairless teddy bears, then militarism has truly gone mad.

Re:lbs to kg?

[blincoln]

It's the new exchange rate. The US pound has been greatly devalued in relation to the European kilogram.

Anyway, I see a lot of skepticism about this design, but I think it's great. TFS makes it sound like the robot is designed with a furry brown teddy bear head, but it's more just a friendly robot face. Having been rescued from death (although not the battlefield kind) before, I would say that it's a great idea to have something like that when the people it will be picking up are not thinking clearly.