Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency released new footage of its AlphaDog, a technological marvel of emerging technology that could turn the tide of battle, or at least carry a lot of heavy gear for soldiers.
Technically designated the Legged Squad Support System (L3), the AlphaDog can traverse rough terrain, plow through underbrush, follow soldiers in the field, act as a charging station for radios, and generally scare the hell out of any enemy soldier it comes across. Its original concept was to simply replace pack mules, which are still being used in some part of the world. But it’s become a lot more than that.
Today’s dismounted war fighter can be saddled with more than 100 pounds of gear, resulting in physical strain, fatigue and degraded performance. Reducing the load on dismounted war fighters has become a major point of emphasis for defense research and development, because the increasing weight of individual equipment has a negative impact on war fighter readiness. The Army has identified physical overburden as one of its top five science and technology challenges. To help alleviate physical weight on troops, DARPA is developing a four-legged robot, the Legged Squad Support System (LS3), to integrate with a squad of Marines or Soldiers.
LS3 seeks to demonstrate that a highly mobile, semi-autonomous legged robot can carry 400 lbs of a squad’s load, follow squad members through rugged terrain and interact with troops in a natural way, similar to a trained animal and its handler.
The LS3 program goal is to develop a robot that will go through the same terrain the squad goes through without hindering the squad’s mission. The robot could also serve as a mobile auxiliary power source to the squad, so troops can recharge batteries for radios and handheld devices while on patrol.
For more details visit : http://www.darpa.mil/default.aspx
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