Posted 09.15.2009 at 9:42 am
5 Comments
A couple of months ago, Sandia National Laboratory, in conjunction with Boston Dynamics (they of Big Dog fame) and DARPA, announced the creation of a robot that could jump 25 feet in the air. Designed for use in urban combat, the robot, named the Precision Urban Hopper (PUH), would give special forces troopers their own lightweight, easily deployable ground UAV.
Now, Sandia and Boston Dynamics have released the first video of the PUH in action. And what action it is. As you can see by the above video, the PUH makes short work of obstacles orders of magnitudes taller than the bot itself. Sandia said that they hope to deliver a finished model of the PUH by the end of 2010, and from the looks of it, they're well on their way.
[via BBC News]
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I can see that getting stuck some ware.
If by "precision", they mean "flinging itself and then tumbling", then I think they've got it.
In other news, the same team has created a military version of the "Penny Racer".
pointless, ineffective and inefficient just like all of the newer robotics desighned by the military
lol a radio controlled helicopter with a camera duct taped to it would serve as a better UAV no? lol
thats just a radio controlled car that can jump 25 feet i don't really see the point
An arial vehicle cannot enter a building and is limited to arial reconn. The point is that it can hop the fence and get inside the compound to see and hear whats going on before we blow it up. Just one of many applications I can think of.
Today's magic is tomorrow's technology.