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A New Robo-Soldier Will Test Chemical Warfare Suits
Daniel_Stuckey (2647775) writes "When it comes to military tech, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) usually makes the headlines with its gadgets, gizmos, and kickass robots. It's a prolific supporter of robo-defence projects, from Boston Dynamics' Cheetah and its cousin Big Dog to autonomous hands and unsteady humanoids. But the latest piece of military robot news comes from across the Atlantic at the UK's Ministry of Defence, which has unveiled an animatronic man to test suits and equipment for the British armed forces. 'Porton Man' looks pretty impressively modern and human-like until you realise he's stuck to a clunky external frame that moves his limbs like a puppet. But hey, at least he's not stumbling through steps at a snail's pace before inevitably crashing to the ground, like DARPA's cyborg hopefuls. The frame lets Porton Man run, walk (sorry, 'march'), sit, and kneel in mid-air, to mimic the common movements of a human soldier. He can also hold his arms up as if sighting a weapon."
Anyone care to explain why there is a picture of a British phone box in the summary?
reminds me of the old joke.
Q: what is the first step to determining if the area is now safe to un-mask?
A: ask the new guy if you can borrow his rifle for a second.
THL phish sticks
"He can also hold his arms up as if sighting a weapon."
If you can't use it for war then it ain't useful. It needs to do something war.
We can't pay poor people a few bucks to eat, but we've infinite cash for surveillance and war. Who the hell is threatening us with chemicals? The US had THE stockpiles of nerve toxins on this planet. We still haven't gotten rid of it all. And for what did we make enough poison to wipe out all life on earth a million times? We seem to be the biggest threat on the planet, by far.
Apparently, teaching you how to spell wasn't a role of your government, either.
Cloudiot: A person who does not see offsite storage as a way to lose control over access to his or her own data.
Pretty sure Walt Disney was doing this a long time ago, just without the "chemical suit testing" excuses, and on a much smaller budget.
God help us all from people like you.
-1 Flamebait
Although it's hard to tell from dueling press releases, it appears that PETMAN is more sophisticated and moves much more autonomously then Porton Man. I assume that it is also a lot more expensive.
Why is Snark Required?
Who cares about starvation when the future is robots married to vintage music.
http://www.youdubber.com/index...
look at the Ukraine and this
http://www.euronews.com/2014/0...
This summary reads like a Fringe episode synopsis. Are there any former Boston Dynamics co-founders currently in a mental institution, claiming they crossed universes after ingesting some homemade lsd?
Let's remember "chem" suits are for use against multiple threats and can protect against radioactive particulates in scenarios such as nuke plant accidents.
Chems are cheap, and the failure to be ready to operate in a smegged environment would make using them (especially in unconventional war) attractive to some folks.
NBC suits are exhausting to wear so better tech merits development. Heat stress in MOPP 4 (Google it) can kill. We used to train in full gear during the Cold War and even doing 12-hour shifts in MOPP 4 didn't simulate the likely scenario of having to wear it for days. We had to monitor each other for heat exhaustion during the summer even in CONUS.
Nope. That was his parent's job.
Suborbital [spaceflight] is the special olympics of spaceflight. - Rei
Wow.. another first for technology.
Pretty soon you can die on the street for no 'honor' like the single (surprising how many were 'unattached' after their wife learned of injuries. Mental or physical - at least they all were well honored and a monument was put up for those with the good grase to die there - where they were suppose to.
"See - we spend $30 dollars - if was worth it!")
Good deal - love progress.
"Alarm! Zhe Goggles! Zhey do nothing!"
I disagree, ensuring that your population doesn't starve is the proper role of government. However we've been trying to stop people starving in the same spots in the world for the last 40 years with charitable efforts. Its about time that we admitted that the current approach has failed. Instead its created a gravy train of NGO executive posts and kept people in a near starving position, all the while excusing the local government from fixing the problem in a vaguely racist manner. "They can't solve it themselves, they need our help".
There is a further argument that the actions of the NGOs, and developed government aid, undermines the local market preventing the poor in these countries from rising out of poverty and aid dependence. What price can you get for the grain you buy if much more is going to be shipped in for free by an NGO?
You may think me a tired, old, cynic. I'd have to disagree about the tired bit.
What are you saying about the Coward's mother? :) I want to know more!
Cloudiot: A person who does not see offsite storage as a way to lose control over access to his or her own data.