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Marines' new robot can be thrown through windows and into harm's way
From Geostrategy-direct, subscription req'd.WASHINGTON — The United States has developed a robot meant for counter-insurgency missions in Iraq. The U.S. Marine Corps has helped fund the development of a 4-kilogram robot meant to operate in the line of fire or scout high-risk areas. The robot, called Dragon Runner, was developed to assist U.S. forces in urban warfare. A link to pics of the system is HERE The Dragon Runner is sufficiently rugged to be hurled through windows, up the stairs, into a cave or around corners. The robot can land on its feet and provide surveillance. The Dragon Runner, funded by the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab and the Office of Naval Research in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, has been used in Afghanistan and Iraq. The robot contains a front-mounted tilting camera that relays video and employs a wireless modem and UHF video transmitter. "We lost a couple of [robots] to improvised explosive devices, but that's okay," said U.S. Army Col. Bruce Jette, director of the Rapid Equipping Force. "It wasn't soldiers." The Dragon Runner has been operated by the Rapid Equipping Force and modified after field trials. Officials said the teams were authorized to equip, insert and access the equipment in a 90-day cycle. The Dragon Runner has been tested in Iraq, but officials would not elaborate. "If the commander says some piece of equipment stinks, it's not going to ruin my program," Jette said. "The question is can we fix it? What can we do to find a valid solution? It's not a tank. It doesn't have to last years. We produce rapid technical solutions to problems that are encountered today." Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-06-07 |
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