The Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot (BEAR)

Brooklynben

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6729745.stm

Screw the "friendly appearance" nonsense and let it fan out ballistic protection like an beetle!

The US military is developing a robot with a teddy bear-style head to help carry injured soldiers away from the battlefield.
The Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot (BEAR) can scoop up even the heaviest of casualties and transport them over long distances over rough terrain.

New Scientist magazine reports that the "friendly appearance" of the robot is designed to put the wounded at ease.

It is expected to be ready for testing within five years.

While it is important to get medical attention for injured soldiers as soon as possible, it is often difficult and dangerous for their comrades to reach them and carry them back.

The 6ft tall Bear can cross bumpy ground without toppling thanks to a combination of gyroscopes and computer controlled motors to maintain balance.

It is also narrow enough to squeeze through doorways, but can lift 135kg with its hydraulic arms in a single smooth movement, to avoid causing pain to wounded soldiers.

While the existing prototype slides its arms under its burden like a forklift, future versions will be fitted with manoeuvrable hands to gently scoop up casualties.

The Bear is controlled remotely and has cameras and microphones through which an operator sees and hears.

It can even tackle stairs while carrying a human-sized dummy.

Daniel Theobald, the president of Vecna Technologies, which is developing the robot for the US Army, said: "We saw a need for a robot that can essentially go where a human can. The robot will be an integral part of a military team."

Gary Gilbert, from the US Army's Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Centre in Frederick, Maryland, said that the teddy bear appearance was deliberate.

"A really important thing when you're dealing with casualties is trying to maintain that human touch."

Vecna is working on other potential applications for the robot technology - including helping move heavy patients in hospital.
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1. Teddy bear face designed to be reassuring
2. Hydraulic upper body carries up to 227kgs (500lbs)
3. When kneeling tracked "legs" travel over rubble. Switches to wheels on smooth surfaces
4. Dynamic Balance Behaviour (DBB) technology allows the robot to stand and carry loads upright on its ankles, knees or hips for nearly an hour
 

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It better be friendly looking...or guys like Luna lying wounded on the battlefield will think the Terminator is after him and try to rip out its wires :(
 
I was reading about that on Friday. Good idea but what kind of protection/system redundancy would it have. All you need is to be extracted by it and then have it take a hit and have a big "friendly" looking pile of junk lying on top of you. Then what comes out to extract it, so another can extract you.

Idea seems a little gay to me. A way to spend tax dollars on your stupid friends/families ideas. ;)
 
Screw that. Replace both arms with 240's, make the head look like a pig's and send that shit after the bad guys instead.
 
If they can make these things to carry troops then they are not too far from being able to arm them and send them into battle. Scary thought!
 
If they can make these things to carry troops then they are not too far from being able to arm them and send them into battle. Scary thought!
I sort of stay up on this technology crap and you have no idea how close they are to doing exactly what you are speaking of. In fact, "bio-enhanced" systems are set to start making their initial presence on the battlefield within the next two years.

The technologies are getting so far in the labs that the 'Lab Coat Boys' are now having debates on just how to write the moral software so that the robots can destroy weapons but avoid destroying the human. The lines of definition often blur in situations such as a hadji holding an AK. Hadji might be an casualty of collateral damage in the robots destruction of the AK.

Even now the Brits are said to be getting ready to deploy a system of autonomous mini drones to fly cover for their patrols.

Anybody know a guy by the name of "John Connor"? ;)
 
I sort of stay up on this technology crap and you have no idea how close they are to doing exactly what you are speaking of. In fact, "bio-enhanced" systems are set to start making their initial presence on the battlefield within the next two years.

The technologies are getting so far in the labs that the 'Lab Coat Boys' are now having debates on just how to write the moral software so that the robots can destroy weapons but avoid destroying the human. The lines of definition often blur in situations such as a hadji holding an AK. Hadji might be an casualty of collateral damage in the robots destruction of the AK.

Even now the Brits are said to be getting ready to deploy a system of autonomous mini drones to fly cover for their patrols.

Anybody know a guy by the name of "John Connor"? ;)

While I do not really know how close they are I would not at all be surprised if they released a working version tomorrow.

Of course the "ambulance" versions of these are perfect for current battlefield situations as well I would love to see an enhanced version that is capable of breaching and entering a room and allowing us to see what is in there before entering. It would allow us to overcome the fatal funnel in most situations and save lives.
 
I can imagine the team sitting off in a hide controling robots on the obj......like the beginning of Terminator 2.
 
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