MIT concocts semi-autonomous forklift for war zone unloading

So, envision this -- a Mars rover of sorts, but on the battlefield. In a nutshell, that's what engineers and researchers at MIT have created. The so-called semi-autonomous forklift could be loosed in war zones in order to unload cargo and move supplies for soldiers. Obviously, having humans behind unwieldy crates isn't the most ideal scenario when bullets are flying, so enlisting a robot for such duties is clearly preferable. The bot can even be remotely controlled, and an array of inbuilt sensors help to direct it around objects that can't be seen from in the brush. Gurus behind the project are hoping to include voice / gesture recognition in future iterations, so that simply yelling "unload the truck!" could give the machine all the direction it needs. Come to think of it, we could use one of these buggers around the office -- reshuffling hefty HDTVs can take a toll on one's back, you know.

[Via PC World, image courtesy of OneMansBlog]

[GaryZ Posted Jan 16th 2009 1:48PM]

never understand how you guys were able to dig out some many bizzare/funny pictures that fits the titles so well...

[cibrlx01 Posted Jan 16th 2009 1:51PM]

Looks to be google, the forklift/bomb pic comes up on the first search of 'forklift' for me.

[Smart People Play Tuba Posted Jan 16th 2009 2:38PM]

Or this one . . .
http://www.pixarcars.tv/assets/images/cars---guido-02.jpg

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 16th 2009 2:58PM]

@ Smart People Play Tuba

That's a good one, Guido from cars.

[cibrlx01 Posted Jan 16th 2009 1:48PM]

That is an awsm picture, good job.

[yopladas Posted Jan 16th 2009 1:48PM]

I thought the robot dropped the bomb.

[michaspi Posted Jan 16th 2009 1:49PM]

(caption to picture)

Due to budget cuts, the US Air Force reverts back to more primitive ways of delivering bomb payloads.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 16th 2009 1:50PM]

Even military's scratching it's head trying to find ways to kick more asses off army these days...... sad......

[Taylor Yes Taylor Posted Jan 16th 2009 2:38PM]

Sad? I think an army that relies on fewer people doing forklifting means more people avaliable for doing the difficult tasks, like deciding who to kill. I know they are working on robots for that too, but my point is, military progression has always been about needing less men. Why send 1000 men into a villiage to take it over when two men in a jet with some missiles, followed by a strike force of 15 men can do the same thing? I'm not a fan of war but i can at least recognize that there are some places where fewer people would improve things. It's not even about saving money, because robots like this can cost more than a soldier's entire life salary, it's about saving lives and making things more efficient. That's not sad at all.
-Taylor

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 16th 2009 2:55PM]

@ Taylor

I like your style. You're serious and reasonable, and I,....... am a naughty boy.
- Glove-esque

[cinematech Posted Jan 16th 2009 9:05PM]

Humility--FTW!--?

[BigD145 Posted Jan 16th 2009 1:53PM]

Whoops. McCain made someone else drop their bomb.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 16th 2009 1:57PM]

If I've learned anything from playing videogames, hiding behind unwieldy crates when bullets are flying IS actually the most useful scenario.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 16th 2009 3:19PM]

unless the crates contain unstable material. I usually blow those up first so I don't die....

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 16th 2009 7:51PM]

Flaming barrels =/= good cover material

[BigD145 Posted Jan 16th 2009 9:40PM]

Videogames = real life? What?

[Maxx Posted Jan 16th 2009 2:06PM]

I dont know. The robots getting shot at might not distingish between the waring humans thus setting off the robot apocolypse. The fact that they are now armed doesnt help.

[tigerianwinter Posted Jan 16th 2009 2:31PM]

Wait, what's bigger than epic fail?

[Smart People Play Tuba Posted Jan 16th 2009 3:13PM]

That would be "Fail of Biblical Proportions"

[Mustaine Posted Jan 16th 2009 11:18PM]

There's no spectrum of win and fail these days, everything is either "BEST EVAR" or "EPIC FAIL"
It makes whoever uses those terms look like a /b/tard

[mitchellpgh Posted Jan 16th 2009 2:15PM]

"We would like a forklift for the war zone... oh, and put a laser guided 120 mm smoothbore cannon on it as well... you know, to keep the terrorists away."

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 16th 2009 2:18PM]

Truck! Send this gift over to Gizmodo!

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 16th 2009 6:19PM]

Thats not a bomb, its an ERF (extended refuel) pod for a helicopter.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 16th 2009 3:09PM]

I wonder with unemployment rising, is it a good idea to openly discuss autonomous semi-artificial intelligent technology that will replace human labor at this time?

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 16th 2009 3:32PM]

Introducing: Kirk Buzzkill.

[Slappy Wag Posted Jan 16th 2009 3:24PM]

ALL YOUR BOMBS ARE BELONG TO US!

[ashwinmudigonda Posted Jan 16th 2009 4:41PM]

http://www.private.peterlink.ru/rcl/workpartnercoop.htm

The europeans are already on it.

[Wwhat Posted Jan 16th 2009 4:21PM]

My extensive gaming experience tells me having humans behind crates when bullets fly is in fact the ideal scenario.

[echao Posted Jan 16th 2009 6:37PM]

FAILURE

sometimes life gives you a second chance

[Rob Conway Posted Jan 16th 2009 7:58PM]

"reshuffling hefty HDTVs can take a toll on one's back, you know"
this made me laugh. just because I work in computer recycling and plenty of times when we go to these offices to pick up their out of warranty/broken equipment, there's always some super skinny IT guy to tell me how heavy that tektronix printer is, and how it took two guys like an hour just to get it into the hallway. Then I just pick it up and put it in the truck. I love those looks of amazement.
Seriously, us husky dudes can set up a network too!

[cinematech Posted Jan 16th 2009 9:10PM]

Wow! You sound all big, and strong, and tough.

[SiXiam Posted Jan 16th 2009 8:54PM]

My Forklift Adventures:
I've dropped pallets full of water in 5 gallon bottles and plenty of water coolers from very high heights.
...The freon gushes out and the plastic side panels explode and fly everywhere!

If I dropped a live bomb I would shit my pants....

[nanobis Posted Jan 18th 2009 10:02PM]

Id love to see the look on that guys face when that happened

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 21st 2009 7:34PM]

That is building 43439 on Charlie Gate road in the Kadena Muns area. Navy dude was driving the forklift.
There appears to be a 1.1 sticker on the front of that pallet/case, and it looks like some type of dated CBU.