A shoebox sized, GPS-guided robot is under development for the U.S. military. Oh, and the robot has mad ups too: It can leap a 25-foot wall without breaking a sweat.
Robotics company Boston Dynamics, the same group that brought you PETMAN and BigDog, built the robot—known as the Precision Urban Hopper—for the purposes of scouting enemy territory.
BBC News reports:
Most of the time, the robot…uses its four wheels to get around. But the Precision Urban Hopper can use a piston-actuated “leg” to launch it over obstacles such as walls or fences. The robot could boost the capabilities of troops and special forces engaged in urban warfare, say researchers.
The work was funded by the US military’s research branch, and the robot is expected to enlist sometime in late 2010.
Here’s a video of the little bugger posterizing a helpless fence:
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Image: Sandia National Laboratories
Video: Sandia National Laboratories via YouTube/kusharax
September 15th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Very useful.
September 16th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
This is very cool. It ties in, along an evolutionary road, with the type of military robots portrayed in the movie “Screamers.” Very cool, indeed.
September 18th, 2009 at 11:30 am
[...] Via Discoblog. [...]
November 5th, 2009 at 12:03 am
Pretty cool, but I can see why everyone avoided using acronyms to name this little piece of machinery… PUH… very tasteful.