WOW!! A Robot Army Mule Funded By DARPA!! Check This Out!

Now this is something that’s really mind blowing! A robot produced by Boston Dynamics that resembles a mule that seems to take all types of terrain in its stride! There’s even a scene where it’s pushed but regains balance. You can’t put this one down, can you?

YouTube Link

Now this is sure going to put a smile on the faces of the army’s logistics staff. Live mules which are a hassle to maintain could be gladly replaced by these robots to supply troops in mountainous terrain that have no proper lines of communication. Later, they my not even require to be accompanied by muleteers, but just pre-programmed to reach their destinations independently!

I would love this to happen. It probably will – soon! But hey! Why the dickens is it called a 'big dog'??

Edit To Add: Why is this project being funded by DARPA? Does it have any secret military connotations?

Cheers!


[edit on 4-4-2008 by mikesingh]

Hiyah Mike...

the ONLY reason I watched and read this was because your name was on it.

I may be a newb here on ATS but I know the movers and shakers....

That was truly horrifying to me ... the movements all jerky, the noise like a honey bee comb in heat....

ACK ...frightful lmfao...

but thanks for sharing it!

I wouldn't want that thing anywhere near me. It's creepy and loud. Give me a real mule. If you know what you're doing with the equine species, they're great to work with and damn near silent.

there would be no stopping that thing if it were coming after you.
terminator in the making.

So this is were all the tax payers money goes into!!!

Arm that thing with 2, 30 calibre machineguns and a rocket launcher,cant stop that thing man!

But real interesting non the less,the movement of that BigDog is unbelieveble!

Nice find Mike (hope you dont buy that dog and replace the old,he he he)

Well, that is a "dog" I'd like to have. However, I'd probably change the engine to a miniature flathead V8... The distinctive roar of an eight-cylinder power plant would be much more suitable for this beast!

In reality, a very innovative option for power generation might actually be a steam engine: The SteamDog could walk in a forest and "eat" every combustible piece of wood it can find whenever it needs more food for fire. And drink from any trench or river whenever the boiler is about to run out of water. It could go on autonomously as long as it can find something to "eat"...

The early Beta version of BigDog was even more astounding, almost like human. I'm sure there is a fairly good reason why they changed it to walk and jump more like a goat in the final version. This thing is really creepy, somehow reminds me of the Silent Hill game:

YouTube Link

Wait a minute... I think I'm a couple of days late!

Ha what you on about??

That's brilliant! man big smile on my face, had to watch that one twice - love it.

Granted it's a development stage but that is really fantastic - see it on the ice? common mules are asses or are they different any who, that is a gadget... kudos to the builders, that's a good robot. Wonder if it 'learns' or if all of that behaviour is programmed beforehand.

Oh dear

That my friend is because the beta version that your showing us IS HUMAN
As a matter of fact it is two humans. When that guy kicks it you can easily notice it but the big red arrow is after he does it and it goes into slow motion, if you look you can see clearly that when they fall into the garden the guy on the right sticks out his hand to stop himself falling. I could tell off the bat that the beta version was two guys in black with there heads in what looks to be the opposite sides of a box .

No wonder that it moves like a human


Seriously ,when they are on the logs you can clearly see that there are wearing slippers , If anyone is gullible enough to believe that this is a intelligent robot they need there eyes and there heads checked .
If you were joking with us , Nice one
If you are serious then put your glasses on and have a close look.
Oh, and the swing. Dont get me started on the swing

Nice thread Op
That thing (The Real One) is really groovy

Omega






[edit on 4/4/2008 by Omega85]

reply to post by Now_Then

---

The mule is a cross-breed using a donkey stud and a horse mare. They're tough as nails, strong as an ox, and extremely intelligent. They're also very quiet. As I wrote above, if you know what you're doing, they're a fabulous animal to work with.

Hey Mike. there have alreay been several threads on this one already..though none focused on the DARPA issue I guess..

ATS Mule Robot search

That is correct as far as i can see, now lets get back on to the subject at hand.


That thing could be used anywhere fitted with the right equipment.
It would have heaps of uses from equipment transportation to supply delivery, outfitted the right way it could have some offensive and defensive capabilities too.

Once again , good thread Mike


Omega

[edit on 4/4/2008 by Omega85]

Maybe I should have emphasized my thoughts with a very bold text when I was referring to as being "a couple of days late"! The April Fools' Day was about three days ago. Perhaps I should have mentioned that too, as well as the fact that I was trying to tell a kind of a joke...

The Beta version almost made me spill my coffee, the film was rather well done. After having seen several actual BigDog films, I took this one for a real one for the first few moments – until the guys were kicked down and ended up in total havoc in slow motion.

hey there doc

That old woman walking the dog would have spun out lol .
I know i would if i saw something like that walking through the park .

Omega

I would like to hear from the military types in this forum regarding their opinions on the amount of noise this monster creates. Would you really want something that draws that kind of attention anywhere near you in a combat situation?

I edit to ask, what exactly is making all that noise?

[edit on 4/4/08 by Sleuth]

Mike! Your slipping on me man!

robot thread 1

robot thread 2

robot thread 3

robot thread 4

To be honest though, your name alone will probably attract more people who are unaware of the robot to this thread, so Kudos for that!

I would have to say that if this is news from a year ago then I can only imagine what the military version can do. For example here is another cool robotics innovation from the Sarcos co.

www.youtube.com...


edit to fix the link

[edit on 4-4-2008 by badmatty]

not to mention if he had watched the whole video it would have become obvious it was a joke.

Have you read anything?
I did watch the whole vid otherwise i wouldn't have commented on it, sorry if that practice is strange to you but its generally what people often do like reading everything before they throw input in.

If you wanna say something directly to me thats not about the subject in the thread then feel free to U2U me otherwise stay on topic.
Thanks .


Omega

[edit on 4/4/2008 by Omega85]

cool!

and creepy!

at first glance on how it walks, i thought there were two people. i double checked the date of the upload just to make sure that it's not dated april one.

Looks like two mannequins from Silent Hill 2 are stuck together.
I've seen it already. There was once a thread where somebody posted links to a talking robot and there it was in the related posts in youtube.