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Military's Robotic Pack Mule Gets $32M Boost
coondoggie sends word that Boston Dynamics, maker of the BigDog robot we have been following for a while, has just been awarded a $32M DARPA contract to produce robotic "pack dogs" for the military. "What kind of robot will automatically follow a leader, carry 400 lbs. (182 kg) of military gear, walk 20 miles in all manner of weather, and go 24 hours without refueling? Well, we might soon find out as DARPA has awarded a $32 million contract to build its Legged Squad Support System (LS3) which uses sensors and a GPS to walk along with soldiers across all manner of terrain in any weather without pulling any muscles."
Cast Tensor's Floating Disk!
Conscience is the inner voice which warns us that someone may be looking.
Anyway, if they get John Leeson to do the voice, I'm buying one.
Can you eat a robot?
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Put dual chainsaws on these! Instant surrender.
The civilian applications of this are tremendous too. SAR (search and rescue) support in areas where even motorcycle transport is dicey (Moab, etc), moving portable gear (generators if the mule can carry them) to a desolate area after a disaster. Additional help for hikers to carry stuff to and from a remote camp. A group of hunters can send a robot back to main camp to pick up another set of kegs, so the main partiers don't have to stumble down a trail at night.
I'd build some good robot ass too.
A robotic mule? That's ridiculous. Use a real mule. Now a robot donkey, that's different. Could be real hand. Or a bionic burro. An android ass could be the ultimate.
Can you put a mule on standby?
That's the default. Waking from standby is the trick.
Yeah really, just add some kevlar body armor, a camera, blinders, and a remote controlled stick with a carrot on the end of it!
Am I the only one would would like to hop on the thing like a pony and ride it to work every day?
Plus, I could set it to "Terrorize H.R. Mode" and pick it up at the end of the day.
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
yes but the mule-itary industrial complex will always get its way in the end.
They had this way back in 1983 and all it took to run was a C64!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.U.L.E.
Thank you ever so much. I was just thinking, "It's been a while since I've rinsed nasally", and you helped with that -- except why did it have to be coffee? :)
I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
Only on Slashdot could I expect to find a serious discussion on the benefits of mules vs. a lifting robot. Never change.