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Boston Dynamics Unveils AlphaDog Quadruped Robot
An anonymous reader writes "Boston Dynamics, the company that created the BigDog quadruped robot, has unveiled a new, bigger system called AlphaDog. AlphaDog, a DARPA-sponsored project, can carry a payload of 400 pounds for up to 20 miles without having to refuel, and it's also much quieter than BigDog. The robot is designed to assist humans in carrying heavy equipment over rough terrain, and Boston Dynamics' schedule has the first walk-out of AlphaDog taking place sometime in 2012, when U.S. Marines will begin to put the robot to the test for real."
>> and it's also much quieter than BigDog
Sounds like they got it down from 150dB to a measly 120dB.
Put horns on it, produce 2000 of it and have them charge the enemies. I assure you it will discourage warfare like nothing else.
The sheer act of seeing things like that running around on the battlefield is likely to be pretty unsettling for enemy combatants. One step closer to mechwarrior.
Just another ignorant American.
The way it stands up slowly at the end...
Watching it maintain its stance after being shoved the second time was un-nervingly reminiscent of a spider, but watching it get back up from its side was the icing on the terror-cake. I've already had awful visions of Asimo indefatigably running me down, now that thing's going to be pracing through my nightmares.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
A mule is a quadruped and can carry 200 pounds a lot farther than 20 miles. It has much better AI, it refuels with easily obtained biofuel, and in a crunch you can eat it!
Multifunction Utility/Logistics and Equipment vehicle (MULE) IS cancelled but Lockheed Martin probably still owns the name, the ideas and a bunch of other legalish things related to any army robots called mules.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
I wanna ride it up to the store, maybe slap an animatronic wolf head with glowing heat seeking eyes too.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
I have a cheaper/better/faster alternative to this
It can go for miles, can refuel automatically off of native vegetation, can be taught new commands in the battlefield, and is self-replicating.
It's called a HORSE!
LongTail SSH Brute Force analysis tool is here!
The article mentions that it is significantly quieter than big dog. This is likely because the latter had an onboard engine that was really loud while the former is getting power delivered via tether. Power supply is always the last thing added in robotics.
I'd like to see how it gets back up on it's feet once it falls over.
Paul: Father... father, the sleeper has awakened! - Dune
True, and when you're not using it you can just shut it down to save fuel.
Ever tried to transport a horse across an ocean? Or put in long term storage? Gets expensive, you can't just put them in a closet and come back for them 2 years later (well, you could, but their usefulness will be markedly decreased).
While rolling to center will work on a cement floor, I'd like to see that trick done on a hillside in the weeds and trees.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
We're 14+ trillion in debt. Is this what we should be spending money on?
I vote for a quad flash system that combines the power of 1,000 pro cameras to absolutely ruin the night vision of people walking around at night for hundreds of meters in all directions. Non-lethal, silent, and the soldiers can co-ordinate to look away/close eyes better than terrorists who HAVE to watch the men they are about to attack/ambush at night. Maybe even an invisible, infra red only version mixed in?
Nothing says 'run away' like a weird looking robot thing flashing the light of a hundred suns into your night eyes/night vision goggles. (What would it take to burn out sensors on those kinds of goggles anyway?)
Put horns on it, produce 2000 of it and have them charge the enemies. I assure you it will discourage warfare like nothing else.
Sounds like that's exactly what they're doing.
Did anyone else notice that the reason its quieter is that the original had an onboard probably two cycle engine while this one is powered externally?
It's quiet because there's no motor on it yet. Sheesh.
Yeah, but does it run Flash?
Anyone think this thing can stand up to a fire hose? It might be 'water-tight' but I have a feeling it can't pull itself out of 6 inches of mud...yet. Spry that sucker down and get the ground nice and muddy. How about a 4 foot wide crevice with a piece of plywood and dirt on top? Right now these things are creepy, but not the kind of thing I'd be intimidated by in a battle situation... but that day is coming fast.
But with these you won't have animal rights activists hounding you when you install horns and send waves charging the enemy.
Self replicating? Really? And here I thought horses had genders, and required one of each gender to replicate.
And... can a horse go for 24 hours straight, as AlphaDog can? How well does it stand up to enemy gunfire?
Each has its benefits.
So the article says it's much quieter than the bigdog system but in the video the alphadog appears to be hydraulically tethered. I don't think the on board engine is running.
Apple Mummy
But how is this thing preferable to a small wheeled or tracked vehicle like an Argocat? I just can't think of any situation where that could go where a wheeled or tracked vehicle can't. And unless you stick snow shoes on it, that thing has way more ground pressure than the average 4x4.
I'm sure they have good reason to spend the time & money, but I'm at a loss to see what it is.
The Galactic Empire called, they wanted to send that after George Lucas for his crimes against Star Wars.
That's not a dog. That's a burro. Dogs can jump. But seriously. Really cool bot. I hope they can program it to jump.
Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
Ask and ye shall receive:
http://postimage.org/image/ock2ro5g/
Although I think that's the older BigDog model.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqMVg5ixhd0&feature=player_detailpage#t=54s
With the first link, the chain is forged.
How well does it stand up to enemy gunfire?
Bethseda sells a nice pack of horse armor ;)
Put horns on it, produce 2000 of it and have them charge the enemies. I assure you it will discourage warfare like nothing else.
Yeah cos they'll just line up for you. An RPG is much cheaper.
Deleted
Nice tech, but some of their claims are a bit of a stretch. It looks like a film demonstrating milestones to a sponsor. It's power comes via en umbilical cable and it rights itself on a level floor using plywood cams to do the roll and stop.
When compared to a donkey or mule, 4 legged robots have a long way to go. I live in Colorado and have done pack trips with animals. Here's what comes to mind:
ATTN: Boston Dynamics
RE: "Alpha Dog"
To the Project Managers at Boston Dynamics, please be advised that "Alpha Dog" is a shitty name, and your project shares its moniker with a terrible Justin Timberlake movie.
Please change it.
Check out the competitors quiet quadruped carrier: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFPYPJ_6OH0
Great idea. Let's just mount horns on the animal rights activists and send them towards the enemy!
Once the enemy deals with them, we can use the horses.
The Taliban use a $100 self fueling donkey. The U.S. army uses a $1,000,000 robotic dog.
The Taliban us a $200 bomb, The U.S. Army use a $200,000 EOD robot to defuse the bomb.
You could have predicted the outcome of the war by cost alone.
Special Forces in remote areas of Afghanistan for example.
Clearly we should not do war research because there is no payoff.
AlphaDog would make a great wilderness rescue tool, or even a recreational vehicle. But our society values killing brown people in far-off lands who supposedly hate us for our freedoms more than rescuing hurt hikers.
The money funneled to DARPA could be redirected to these sorts of efforts for peaceful work today. An amount on the order of the entire personal income tax goes to the military industrial complex - imagine if people kept that money how much would be available for philanthropy.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
I would love to see how this thing would react to someone laying down a massive carpet of small ball bearings in front of it. The sound of Fred Flintstone running in mid-air comes to mind.
Did you guys see that? When it rolled over and stood up? Man it kind of freaked me out a little how good it was at that, considering how godamn heavy it must be.
from Omni Computer Products.
Well, it may be cheaper. It could be faster. But horses require a lot of care and can easily be injured or killed.
I was thinking more along the lines of a saddle it and ride it. Robo-Cowboy!
Where are they going to get all the supporting hydraulic equipment that isn't show on the video when they're out in the field? Seems like a non-starter.
Hint: native vegetation is free, doubly so if you've got a bunch of guys with guns standing around.
You're right in that this system is a stupid idea for carrying cargo.
What this robot IS ideal for is direct front line combat. 400 pounds of cargo? Try 400 pounds of armor, ammunitions and weapon systems
Let's not kid ourselves. Potentially this is an all terrain miniature wardog/terminator mini-tank, that you can mount either with automated turrets, or it's a mobile artillery station/machine gun platform. A clever team of engineers could wield plating/mounts/gyroscopes whatever it wanted on this thing and have it perform admirably in multiple mission types from room clearance to bomb disposal to pack handling.
Think about this thing with a full set of armor/shields and a tripod-mounted machine guns- suddenly you have a mobile pill box.
You can't do that with animals. You CAN train an animal to be battle trained, however: Animals die. When they die, they lose all their training. These things come out of the factory with whatever configuration you want and they do it.
Animals also grow old,stressed and fatigued. Once this system is perfected, it's like a jeep. It will be able to run for 40 years until it's internal components start to rust.
So you reckon native vegetation is free and plentiful in Iraq for example? Have you considered the cost of "vegitation" between missions etc etc the list goes on.
I bet it finds tons of native vegitation in the desert...
The leg movement and stability control on that thing is unnerving. I think its a case of movement being the cause of an uncanny valley rather than appearance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horses_in_World_War_I
"They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
In the regions under dispute, generally, yes. Nobody fights over the vast, trackless desert, because there aren't any people out there. There's a reason Saddam built all his military bases in highly populated areas, and it's not because he and all his predecessors were crazy and evil -- it's because the habitable regions are all inhabited already.
...China is getting Super Powerful, the HONEST way (I'm not Chinese btw...Scandinavian), but the point remains... ...logical thinking, quoting Boston Dynamics testing schedule:
" Boston Dynamics' schedule has the first walk-out of AlphaDog taking place sometime in 2012, when DARPA and the U.S. Marines will begin to put the robot to the test for real."
Yeah? 2012 eh? Something planned for us there big "old" brother?
Recapping for the weak of mind:
1) US. Was strong.
2) US. Wants oil.
3) US. Interferes with those countries that has less technology, but OIL. Comply or we support your enemies with weapons!
4) China has the same idea, just years later.
5) Buys American debt, little by little....outsourcing etc.
6) Whooops.... Americas pride is bought by the other superpower? Crap!
7) Become superior in WAR-tech again.
8) Threaten less superior countries, get back on track!
Yep, it's THE American way.
What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
Vegetation is not free and plentiful in Iraq. Stealing does not make something free. Why are you talking about the desert? Login and post with an account that isn't brand new and I'll be happy to reply again.