Wounded U.S. troops to be evacuated by … robot teddy bear
posted at 1:21 pm on June 7, 2007 by Allahpundit
Share on Facebook | printer-friendly
Oh, this ain’t your daddy’s robot teddy bear.
A remote-controlled robot that will rescue injured or abducted soldiers, without putting the lives of their comrades at risk, is being developed for the US army. The 1.8-metre-tall Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot (Bear) will be able to travel over bumpy terrain and squeeze through doorways while carrying an injured soldier in its arms.
The prototype Bear torso can lift more than 135 kilograms with one arm, and its developer, Vecna Technologies of College Park, Maryland, is now focusing on improving its two-legged lower body. The robot recently showed how it can climb up and down stairs with a human-size dummy in its arms…
The robot can also carry an injured soldier while kneeling or lying down, enabling it to move through tall grass or behind a wall without being spotted…
The robot’s humanoid body and teddy bear-style head give it a friendly appearance. “A really important thing when you’re dealing with casualties is trying to maintain that human touch,” says Gary Gilbert of the US army’s Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center in Frederick, Maryland, which provided the initial funding for Bear’s development. Congress has since added a further $1.1 million.
Obviously they’ll have to arm him with a “Predator”-esque shoulder-mounted laser cannon so that jihadis reduced to laughter at the sight of Teddy Ruxpin rolling onto the battlefield can be dealt with in the appropriate manner.
Exit question: U.S. troops being the bad-asses that they are, they’re going to end up painting his head to look like a flaming skull or something from an Iron Maiden album cover, aren’t they?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages:
Either that, or boobies.
Number 2 on June 7, 2007 at 1:26 PM
It would be so cool if he had some kind of weapon too. The idea of a robot rescuing a US soldier in a hail of bullets pleases me to a great extent. I can’t wait to see this thing in the streets of Baghdad, even though it’s far along the way.
Hooray for the age of cyber warfare. When do we get Mechs?
Baphomet on June 7, 2007 at 1:28 PM
KelliD on June 7, 2007 at 1:30 PM
Damn that quote button!
KelliD on June 7, 2007 at 1:30 PM
That would be Eddie, if you need him.
Kid from Brooklyn on June 7, 2007 at 1:33 PM
And when the British get it, they’ll have to paint it as Mary Poppins in a Burqa.
Iblis on June 7, 2007 at 1:33 PM
It only hurts when I laugh!
LakeRuins on June 7, 2007 at 1:37 PM
If Japan had developed it, they would be placed one of those “expression” bot heads instead or maybe a “Hello Kitty”.
kiakjones on June 7, 2007 at 1:40 PM
Well for sure the U.N. will never need one.
Limerick on June 7, 2007 at 1:41 PM
I knew it when I first saw those commercials. One day, Ruxpin is gonna go killing people. You could tell.
It’s like the kid in the Werther’s Originals commercials. You know he’s gonna ice somebody, some day.
lorien1973 on June 7, 2007 at 1:42 PM
I want a Terrorist huntin rosie/in/a/burka killer robot that kills by jumping on top of them and crushes them with her weight saying “This is what your virgins look like in heaven !”
William Amos on June 7, 2007 at 1:42 PM
When do we get Mechs?
Mazztek on June 7, 2007 at 1:42 PM
Or how about this guy?
Gottafang on June 7, 2007 at 1:44 PM
Why yes, yes we will.
Militant Bibliophile on June 7, 2007 at 1:52 PM
But they might try to call it “illegal.”
calbear on June 7, 2007 at 1:54 PM
“If you’re gonna die, die with your boots on. If you’re gonna cry, just move along.”
Enrique on June 7, 2007 at 2:01 PM
Then you guys at the TATRC need to make this thing look like LeAnn Tweeden in a camo-colored miniskirt.
ScottMcC on June 7, 2007 at 2:08 PM
Shouldn’t they be working on a robot that rockets in from a jump ship, freezes the wounded soldier in cryo-stasis, Han-Solo style, and then blasts them both up to the orbiting hospital ship, leaving behind a small thermonuclear detonator?
seriously–teddy bear?
notwithstanding room for improvement: quite cool.
TexasDan on June 7, 2007 at 2:12 PM
This idea might look good on the “drawing board” but on the field of battle I think it will get a lot of the injured guys killed. The enemy, especially the Islamic enemy will be shooting at the robot and probably hit the soldier, or they will just shoot the soldier.
With this enemy, the wounded need to be taken from the field under cover. These people blow-up children without a second thought, they will have no compunction about shooting an exposed soldier, wounded or not.
Maxx on June 7, 2007 at 2:21 PM
I’m thinking … Photoshop contest?
JackOfClubs on June 7, 2007 at 2:21 PM
So that’s what Congress did over their spring break.
James on June 7, 2007 at 2:51 PM
So who is going to carry the wounded troops when the teddy bear drops them down a flight of stairs?
unamused on June 7, 2007 at 3:13 PM
Hmm…needs more words. How about putting ‘Coordinated Action Rearguard Equipment’ in front of that?
James on June 7, 2007 at 3:20 PM
Who is going to protect the wounded soldiers being held up as targets by these robots that don’t have a clue how to duck or shoot back?
Woody
woodcdi on June 7, 2007 at 3:26 PM
Terminator.
Melba Toast on June 7, 2007 at 3:45 PM
RE: exit question…
Probably.
They’ll have back up….
liquidflorian on June 7, 2007 at 4:11 PM
Actually, that is exactly how it would be used! The rest of the squad would be able to provide cover fire instead of one or two having to carry the injured individual! More firepower!!!
SSG Fuzzy on June 7, 2007 at 5:15 PM
Bwahahahahaha!
No, seriously, this is never going to replace corpsmen and medics. Maybe once you get the wounded to a safe(er) location, you could use them as a sort of automated litter bearer, but to actually make pickup? Not gonna happen. Not enough adaptability, not enough maneuverability, and too easy to jam and/or break. I’m still holding out for a full fledged BattleMech…
Militant Bibliophile on June 7, 2007 at 5:28 PM
While I applaud the soldier-saver robot, how about putting some money into jihadi-killer robots? How about something with a Satan head on it and bulletproof speakers on it that blare in Arabic, “KILLER ROBOTS ARE COMING TO KILL YOU INSURGENT DOGS!” Load up the jihadi-bots with shotguns, pistols, assault weapons. Maybe arms with freaking buzz saws on them or chain flails, something to make the jihadis crap in their turbans. If the insurgents somehow disable one of them, they should have booby traps on them that blow when handled.
Our guys could ditch the body armor back in the FOB and operate the jihadi-bots from afar with Nintendo controls while having a cold one and some barbecue.
Tantor on June 7, 2007 at 6:36 PM
Thats what I liked to! It’s called the SWORDS robot. First ever to break Issac Asimovs’ rule.
liquidflorian on June 7, 2007 at 9:39 PM
This is the prototype for the robotic infantry of the future. Getting funding from Congress under color of making a robotic rescuer was a beautiful move.
Kralizec on June 7, 2007 at 10:48 PM
Funniest thing I read all day.
John on June 8, 2007 at 4:38 AM
soon we will not need to send humans to battle. perhaps one day we can just kill the number of humans that would have been lost if a real battle had taken place instead of a computer simulation. just like star trek.
doggod on June 8, 2007 at 12:08 PM
Comment pages: