Google’s parent company Alphabet owns Boston Dynamics, the brains behind the robot dogs that made headlines – However, the invention once hailed as a great battlefield advancement may be the opposite.
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Boston Dynamics have been working with the Pentagon’s research arm known as DARPA to test out this robotic dog which was billed as a sort of mechanical pack mule.
However, according to Marines spokesman Kyle Olson, it’s just too loud.
“As Marines were using it, there was the challenge of seeing the potential possibility because of the limitations of the robot itself. They took it as it was: a loud robot that’s going to give away their position.”
Boston Dynamics also showcased a different model which ran quieter with an electric motor. However, its hauling capabilities were severely lacking – only carrying 40 pounds. Plus fixing it on the fly would be very hard.
So without a defense contract coming its way, it looks like these robotic dogs are back in storage…for now.
Check out their field tests:
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From Defense One:
Before we see the robots coming for us, it seems we’ll be able to hear them coming.
Boston Dynamics, the robotics company owned by Google’s parent Alphabet, has been working with DARPA, the Pentagon’s research division, to build an autonomous robot that could carry supplies for troops. DARPA first showed off the robot—the Legged Squad Support System (LS3)—in 2012. It was designed to carry at least 400 pounds of supplies and be able to follow Marines through rugged terrain that regular vehicles wouldn’t be able to traverse, like a robotic pack mule.
Do you think we will eventually see robots like these on the battlefield? Sound off in the comments below!
