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Description
This will be the most recent of crazy military inventions. However, I like to think that the idea was inspired by an abandoned project from the 1960s.

The General Electric (GE) Ordinance Dept. had the idea to create a walking truck for the US Army in 1962. The image looks very much like an “All Terrain Armored Transport” from Star Wars. technabob.com/blog/wp-content/… It was given the name Cybernetic Walking Machine. It stood 11 feet tall, weighed 3000 lbs. and had the top speed of 5 mph. An operator was needed to sit inside the machine and control the 4 legs by moving his own limbs. The purpose of this bizarre looking machine was to transport cargo over terrain that proved too rough for the army. The Department of Defense and the Army Tank and Automotive Center took interest in this interesting machine by 1965. An alternate name was given, Cybernetic Anthropomorphous Machine (CAM). However, for some reason that I do not know, production for the machine wasn’t pushed forward and it became shelved in the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.

Now today, we’ve got this electric mule-like robot, named Big Dog or Alpha Dog, performing the same purpose but with drastic changes. It is 3 feet tall and operates by sensors in the legs and a computer. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) began putting this robot together in 2005 and 3 years later released footage of it being tested. www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBc… !
It’s quite impressive to see how Big Dog can maintain balance, cover rough terrain, function for long periods of time and carry hundreds of pounds.

The problem that I see and I’m sure you can too in the video, is the noise that can be heard for miles. It makes a perfect guide for the enemy to follow right to where the troops are camped. Also, its speed is barely 4 mph so combined with the racket this thing isn’t hard to tract. Oh, and I can’t help but think that they would want to mess with this crippled looking thing. I would.

Improvements are being made for Big Dog to be more efficient. Recently an arm has been attached with the ability to lift and throw objects. Whatever they do, I hope something is being done about the earsplitting buzzing.

Description
This will be the most recent of crazy military inventions. However, I like to think that the idea was inspired by an abandoned project from the 1960s.

The General Electric (GE) Ordinance Dept. had the idea to create a walking truck for the US Army in 1962. The image looks very much like an “All Terrain Armored Transport” from Star Wars. technabob.com/blog/wp-content/… It was given the name Cybernetic Walking Machine. It stood 11 feet tall, weighed 3000 lbs. and had the top speed of 5 mph. An operator was needed to sit inside the machine and control the 4 legs by moving his own limbs. The purpose of this bizarre looking machine was to transport cargo over terrain that proved too rough for the army. The Department of Defense and the Army Tank and Automotive Center took interest in this interesting machine by 1965. An alternate name was given, Cybernetic Anthropomorphous Machine (CAM). However, for some reason that I do not know, production for the machine wasn’t pushed forward and it became shelved in the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.

Now today, we’ve got this electric mule-like robot, named Big Dog or Alpha Dog, performing the same purpose but with drastic changes. It is 3 feet tall and operates by sensors in the legs and a computer. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) began putting this robot together in 2005 and 3 years later released footage of it being tested. www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBc… !
It’s quite impressive to see how Big Dog can maintain balance, cover rough terrain, function for long periods of time and carry hundreds of pounds.

The problem that I see and I’m sure you can too in the video, is the noise that can be heard for miles. It makes a perfect guide for the enemy to follow right to where the troops are camped. Also, its speed is barely 4 mph so combined with the racket this thing isn’t hard to tract. Oh, and I can’t help but think that they would want to mess with this crippled looking thing. I would.

Improvements are being made for Big Dog to be more efficient. Recently an arm has been attached with the ability to lift and throw objects. Whatever they do, I hope something is being done about the earsplitting buzzing.