US Military Abandons Robotic Dog, Finds It Too Noisy

I don't blame the military for turning it down, but couldn't the dog be used for something like search & rescue ? Say for instance to assist carrying supplies over terrain where vehicles can't go ? I'm thinking like regions hit by an earthquake or something

a reply to: Discotech

The Marines blew their budget on new planes maybe the Army will pick it up.

Last thing we need is a robot dog who can;

- Be silent
- Sneaking abilities like a cat
- Be able weaponize it (think a badass bazooka on its shoulder)
- Have that ability to move with high agility which makes it wee bit difficult to aim at it.

lucky that kind of technology its decades ahead.

Still would been awesome to have a civilian version of a dog or cat. Like huge catnoid who resembles as a big black panther and to make it worse, i probably call it Guenwhyvar.

while i do see benefits with four legged robots who resemble some of a animal. Then they need to find a energy source who isn't noisy and clean green.

- V -

originally posted by: kosmicjack
Think of the money wasted on this project.

Not at all. Think of all that was learned and developed. It doesn't just evaporate if you fail to make the sale.

eta: Besides which, they should have known from watching Astroboy reruns that ANY robot makes that zoop-zoop sound when they walk.

You know having a noisy thing running around can divert the enemy after contact.

a reply to: Grimpachi

No we want them to pick up the A-10.
ALL we gotta do is shove it down the services throat and blow an old inter-service treaty,simple.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: swanne


Strap a pack of C4 to the sides and top of one of these fellows, pack the outside of those packs over with spent brass, shrapnel, and then tell the robot to run over to the enemy position while you provide suppressive fire so that the enemy cannot move...do you think the lawn mower noise is going to compare, from the enemies perspective, with having the ear bones from one side of their head, blown clear out the other side of their skull?

Had this been devised earlier, it may have saved a few live dogs. In WW2, Soviets trained dogs to get food under tanks, strapped mines to them and sent them against the Panzers.

a reply to: swanne

Ive been saying this since day one but i always got criticized that they would crack that problem.

Good.
That thing is scarier than flying monkeys. Kill it with fire.

I wonder if spot could have space applications like the ability to crawl outside space craft or stations n work as a maintenance robot.

According to military.com this is the robotic mule that we've been seeing. That's a shame. I thought it was already a done deal.

Apparently there was another issue that may have been even more important than the noise. According to the article:

In addition to the lawnmower-like noise of the mule's gas-powered engine, there were other challenges without clear solutions, including how to repair the hulking robot if it breaks and how to integrate it into a traditional Marine patrol.

The problem of repairing complex electro-hydraulic-mechanical systems in the field is non-trivial.

-dex

Good replacements for Horses used in the parks to go trail riding. No feeding, barn cleaning, etc . Guest riders pay for the gas, and ride off. They're not to fast or temperamental. Be good for the kids and grammas. With remote control you could call them all back to the barn before it gets dark.

I can envision that they will be developed for civilian use.

I can also picture a herd of them, heavily armed, coming over the hill, advancing on an enemy position.

Perhaps they could look to Honda, as the source of small gas engines. Some are so quiet, you have to get next to them to tell if they are running. Muffler technology.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Well, you do have a point.