packbot
Latest
German army hosts military bot "competition"
In an effort to remind other countries developing fully automated combat forces -- like the US, India, and South Korea -- that "ve Germans are not all smiles and sunshine," the European powerhouse held its first Grand Challenge-like competition this week, where autonomous robots brought in from around the continent showed off their driving, surveillance, and urban warfare skillz. It's actually a bit misleading to call the first European Land Robot Trial (ELROB) -- which was hosted by the German army, or Bundeswehr. in the town of Hammelburg -- a competition, as participants were not eligible for any prizes or supply contracts, and even had to pay their own expenses, all in the hope that the 1,000-or-so venture capitalists and foreign military attaches on hand would take notice of their technology. Both amateur and professional roboticists entered their creations (which curiously, were required to house a small animal -- don't ask us) in one of two obstacle courses designed to simulate either combat driving or building infiltration -- tasks which were made even more difficult due to the fact that mission specifics were not revealed prior to the event. Although Germany has yet to even appropriate a portion of its budget to research in this area, military officials are optimistic that robotic support vehicles will be deployed to the armed forces within five years.[Via Hindustan Times]
CMU's Crusher military bot rumbles onto the scene
Although not quite as stealthy as some of the other spybots that we've seen, the 6.5-ton Crusher UGCV (Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle), with its 8,000-pound payload and one-kilometer range, is certainly more versatile than your typical robosnake or Packbot. Unveiled today by the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) at Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science's Robotics Institute, Crusher, like its predecessor Spinner, was commissioned by DARPA to provide combat troops with a durable cargo and surveillance option that can operate mostly autonomously even in rough terrain. Crusher is powered by a series of electric motors whose batteries are charged with a turbo diesel generator -- giving it a top speed of 26 miles-per-hour -- and manages to avoid obstacles using an array of cameras and ladar lidar. Although its first two years of service will be restricted to support role duties, Army and DARPA officials will use Crusher's performance during the probationary period to evaluate its potential use in combat as well. [Warning: PDF link]
