Of the huge stompy AT-ATesque variety.
I realised recently that the technology already exists, it only will require someone to actually want such a machine and to have the finances to commission its construction.
I'm sure you've all seen the Boston Dynamics BigDog before. The videos have been all over the net for a year or two. The other week a video was posted showing that it can now run unaided. It also regains its balance after slipping on ice. The old footage of it resisting a kick is still in there.
Running action starts at about 2:27:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNZPRsrwumQ[/yt]
And Bigdog BTW is to say nothing of BD's other creations, such as PETMAN:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja_UsmXVPVk[/yt]
All it needs is some ewoks seriously.
Anyway an interesting thing I noted about bigdog from its wikipedia page:
Now, an engine and hydraulic setup is very very scaleable, see below;
Komatsu PC09, weighing 0.9 of a ton, it can pull its tracks in to fit through an ordinary household door, and then spread them again for stability:
And here is the same hydraulic configuration, rather larger, a Liebherr R9800, weighing in at 800 tons:
Bucket literally the size of a small house:
Effect of filling the bucket with nothing but water and dumping that on a car:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Frk2H-g3CQ[/yt]
What exactly giant robots would be useful for I'm not sure. But if we want em we can build em. We've reached that point, the tech is here. It's passed from the realm of science fiction into science fact. Yarr!
I realised recently that the technology already exists, it only will require someone to actually want such a machine and to have the finances to commission its construction.
I'm sure you've all seen the Boston Dynamics BigDog before. The videos have been all over the net for a year or two. The other week a video was posted showing that it can now run unaided. It also regains its balance after slipping on ice. The old footage of it resisting a kick is still in there.
Running action starts at about 2:27:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNZPRsrwumQ[/yt]
And Bigdog BTW is to say nothing of BD's other creations, such as PETMAN:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja_UsmXVPVk[/yt]
All it needs is some ewoks seriously.
Anyway an interesting thing I noted about bigdog from its wikipedia page:
It's fairly basic physical hardware - an engine, hydraulic pump and hydraulic rams in the legs. The addition of sensors and sophisticated control programs is what turns it into a lifelike machine.
Now, an engine and hydraulic setup is very very scaleable, see below;
Komatsu PC09, weighing 0.9 of a ton, it can pull its tracks in to fit through an ordinary household door, and then spread them again for stability:
And here is the same hydraulic configuration, rather larger, a Liebherr R9800, weighing in at 800 tons:
Bucket literally the size of a small house:
Effect of filling the bucket with nothing but water and dumping that on a car:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Frk2H-g3CQ[/yt]
What exactly giant robots would be useful for I'm not sure. But if we want em we can build em. We've reached that point, the tech is here. It's passed from the realm of science fiction into science fact. Yarr!
