Robot Mule Put Out To Pasture By Marine Corps (nbcnews.com)

An anonymous reader sends word that the Marines have decided that Boston Dynamics' robotic pack mules are too noisy to use. NBC reports: The massive robotic mule developed by Alphabet-owned Boston Dynamics won't see combat with U.S. Marines. LS3 (Legged Squad Support Systems) was meant to carry cargo for weary soldiers in the field. Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, the robot was capable of walking with 400 pounds of equipment on its back. LS3 could run for 24 hours straight on a 20-mile mission across rough terrain. No controller was needed; it took visual and verbal cues from soldiers to find its way. So why doesn't the Marine Corps want to use it? The robot's gas-powered engine isn't exactly the stealthiest piece of technology.

Comments

Re:what's wrong with real mules?

[hey!]

Well, the US Army used mules regularly until 1957, and they're still used occasionally in special operations. The Marine Corps still conducts training in handling pack animals at it's mountain warfare training center.

Pack animals do make sense in limited situations, and mules are superior to horses in those situations because they require less and lower quality feed.