Gladiator defense robot makes its debut

It wasn't your average debutante ball when the Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle (TUGV) took the
stage asphalt in Pittsburgh. This was the first public demonstration of a prototype vehicle designed and developed at Carnegie Mellon University on a $26.4 million Defense Department contract to build a small fleet of six large remote-controlled reconnaissance robots capable of carrying out search-and-discovery missions in potentially hostile areas. The Gladiator aims to warn battlefield soldiers of dangers ahead and protect them from hazards such as mine fields, craters, trenches, hidden enemies, et al. Weighing in at three tons and designed to fit into a Humvee for transport, the Gladiator will be piloted remotely by a soldier using a Sony PlayStation-esque joystick — continuing the
trend towards making war increasingly
game controller operated.