It sweats, does push-ups and runs just like a soldier, but you won’t see Petman in combat, as it’s used only to test army clothes
Boston Dynamics has built a new robot for the US military that can walk, sweat and exercise just like a real soldier would. But unlike the human hating Terminator and Cylon robots, this one is restricted to a lab testing army clothes and boots for wear and tear in hazardous environments (like chemical warfare). In addition to simulating gait the robot also imitates breathing and sweat when it works out too much.
Though human-like, the engineers haven’t yet built a neck or head for PETMAN (Protection Ensemble Test Mannequin) instead it has a blinking red light.
Just because it has a boring job doesn’t mean that PETMAN is not a technological marvel It happens to be the first anthropomorphic ( with human characteristics ) robot that moves like a real person. As far as a price tag is concerned, the robot costs $26.3 million to develop, mostly footed by the US Department of Defence.
Petman is just under six feet tall and weigh close to 80 kilograms, which is the average height and weight of an average American soldier. So it stands to reason to fear something like this if it got weaponised, fortunately the PETMAN is a tethered robot, which means it requires to be connected to a power and data processing source to work.
The days of robot warriors are still a ways off, but PETMAN will have other uses likely much sooner. Spokesman for the company say it could also be used to assist in search and rescue operations in hazardous environments such as what was encountered in the Fukushima disaster. PETMAN is scheduled to be delivered to the Army some time next year.
The video (linked) show the robot doing a bunch of different things, including being pushed by a researchers in an attempt to make it fall. But the robot recovers in real time and continues its jaunty gait.
Boston Dynamics was started by a bunch of people from MIT, they have previously created the BigDog robot that is currently being used in dangerous war zones to transport stuff around for the US military. A torso-less version of PETMAN, was initially unveiled in 2010, there was originally only a set of walking legs. Now he has a body and arms.
Boston Dynamics has built a new robot for the US military that can walk, sweat and exercise just like a real soldier would. But unlike the human hating Terminator and Cylon robots, this one is restricted to a lab testing army clothes and boots for wear and tear in hazardous environments (like chemical warfare). In addition to simulating gait the robot also imitates breathing and sweat when it works out too much.
Though human-like, the engineers haven’t yet built a neck or head for PETMAN (Protection Ensemble Test Mannequin) instead it has a blinking red light.
Just because it has a boring job doesn’t mean that PETMAN is not a technological marvel It happens to be the first anthropomorphic ( with human characteristics ) robot that moves like a real person. As far as a price tag is concerned, the robot costs $26.3 million to develop, mostly footed by the US Department of Defence.
Petman is just under six feet tall and weigh close to 80 kilograms, which is the average height and weight of an average American soldier. So it stands to reason to fear something like this if it got weaponised, fortunately the PETMAN is a tethered robot, which means it requires to be connected to a power and data processing source to work.
The days of robot warriors are still a ways off, but PETMAN will have other uses likely much sooner. Spokesman for the company say it could also be used to assist in search and rescue operations in hazardous environments such as what was encountered in the Fukushima disaster. PETMAN is scheduled to be delivered to the Army some time next year.
The video (linked) show the robot doing a bunch of different things, including being pushed by a researchers in an attempt to make it fall. But the robot recovers in real time and continues its jaunty gait.
Boston Dynamics was started by a bunch of people from MIT, they have previously created the BigDog robot that is currently being used in dangerous war zones to transport stuff around for the US military. A torso-less version of PETMAN, was initially unveiled in 2010, there was originally only a set of walking legs. Now he has a body and arms.
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