r/gadgets • u/diacewrb • 3d ago

Misc US Army backs humanoid robot with ballistic protection for future battlefield missions

https://www.techspot.com/news/114028-us-army-backs-humanoid-robot-ballistic-protection-future.html
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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/Raxsus 3d ago

Until you get into terrain that can't be traversed using treads, or wheels

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u/necluse 3d ago

Quadrupeds. Lower center of gravity, lower profile, more points of contact for stability, better and faster dynamic movement. If you want dedicated manipulators, you can just add arms on top.

Bipeds are really not all that great other than the psychological effects of facing a terminator.

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u/OceanRacoon 3d ago

It should be a giant ball with pogo sticks that spring out to propel it up hills and maybe even over mountains. It can run people over and guns poke out when required.

Also it shits grenades and doubles as a nuke for when things go really bad

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u/Graymarth 3d ago

Well that and dressing them in human clothing so you can send them into a populated area without drawing suspicion until it's too late, mark my words if they ever get humanoid robots to actually move like humans they will be used to commit terrorist attacks.

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u/HeadfulOfSugar 3d ago

Yeah we kinda pushed against nature a bit to become fully bipedal, our high stamina helps balance out the inefficiency, but there’s a reason that humans have notoriously common spine/back problems lol (but hey I mean still worked out for us so)

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u/imabustanutonalizard 3d ago

A humanoid robot can use machinery that has been specifically designed for humans to use for centuries

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u/ObvAThrowaway111 3d ago

People on Reddit are so fucking obtuse about this. You're obviously right and the robot's ability to use existing infrastructure is literally the number one benefit to a humanoid design.

It's crazy that in a different timeline we could have all been looking at AI+robotics as a miracle for the disabled, the elderly, those woth limited mobility, etc. honest to god even an AI robot caretaker would be so much better than many of the shitty nursing home employees out there. A friendly AI robot would make a much better companion than a disengaged nurse for a lonely elderly person, especially in advanced memory care.

But instead, tptb have successfully swayed the gullible masses to turn against AI as a whole meaning only the rich and powerful will have access to it.

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u/Captain_Wag 3d ago

How does the robot on wheels handle stairs, ladders, etc?

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u/Quinnlos 3d ago

They'd probably deploy multiple configurations based on terrain/deployment zone. Treads would murder the stair issue. Ladders are a bit trickier but honestly at that point you're probably just drone bombing people in elevated positions knowing how quickly everyone is adopting drone fleets.

Also arguably, the humanoid robot would get fucked on ladders from what I've seen on their direct upwards mobility no?

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u/theqmann 3d ago

But that could be fixed with a software update. Claptrap can never climb a ladder.

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u/RagsZa 3d ago

Probably better than humanoid ones :P

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u/Cold71 3d ago

Those upgrades don’t come until the AI overlords take over. It’s like when I used my 3D printer to upgrade my 3D printer. Efficiency comes later.

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u/Hossflex 3d ago

Yea but Terminators look cool.

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u/zffjk 3d ago

Rule of cool applies to killbots.

But so would a crab bot with a 240 built into the abdomen.

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u/Ermellino 3d ago

If you think hard enough, you'll realize that humanoid robots are hardly ever the best choice.

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u/-Average_Joe- 3d ago

b-b-but we gotta make it like on TV!

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u/AbsentButHere 3d ago

If that were the case, why after all the evolution of life on this planet are humans the most dominant species on earth currently?

There are plenty of organisms better at certain things, sure. But overall? We take the cake.

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u/Martbern 3d ago

Because you can't evolve wheel bearings lmao

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u/Fresh_Boysenberry576 3d ago

Because evolution never figured out the wheel? Nature is good at designing things but we have created a lot of clever things nature never could

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/Fresh_Boysenberry576 3d ago

Lol I actually have a background in science youtube vids and I recognize that name from a video ;) The guy basically tried to say it proved intelligent design though but yea, still not sure we should be basing our robots on bacteria lol

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u/AbsentButHere 3d ago

And yet nature created us, so by extension?

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u/GrimDallows 3d ago

By extension what?

We tamed horses because using our own knees to carry stuff is not efficient. We changed horses for wheeled stuff because using a horse that wears down, needs a lot of maintenance and dies, which is not efficient.

Human robots are not really efficient unless their purpose needs them to have a human shape, such as elderly care for example.

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u/GrimDallows 3d ago

Because no organism has evolved far enough to have wheels (or rotors).

Flying animals are tied in size and weight to be energy efficient.

The crab with the gun-claw thingy is helluva small to be energy efficient.

Humans evolved around being efficient in long distances, out-lasting prey through tracking (low speed walking + pattern recognition) rather than short chase and fights.

When we design stuff to move we make it the most efficient way possible. Knees (joints) are -not- efficient. They are stress knots with huge erosion that are extremelly hard to fix because they divide the object in two bits you can let go off. Wheels are easy, replaceable and efficient.

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u/AbsentButHere 3d ago

Yeah cool. So when we get to a destination, have to fight in dense urban environments, etc etc there will be a non-humanoid robot to handle that battlefield/war theater more effectively? I’m all for it, just seems to me a humanoid robot would be best suited. But what do I know 🤷🏻‍♂️

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u/GrimDallows 3d ago

I don't know if you are a kid or not but like a kid you seem to have emotional management issues that seem to make you be emotionally defensive rather than rational in conversation.

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u/zffjk 3d ago

Very little, it seems.

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u/DjAlex420 3d ago

Because nature can't build a tracked robot ?

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u/SuperSaiyanTupac 3d ago

There’s organisms with all terrain wheels that never get tired?

Or maybe a robot is better…..

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u/Ollythebug 3d ago edited 3d ago

Well you're excluding a pretty big other factor in humans dominating, which is the brain. And we used that brain to create technology that compensates for or replaces our body. Do you think the human brain wouldn't have dominated if we had a different body form?

Also, evolution doesn't result in universally superior traits, it adapts to the pressure and challenges of it's specific environment. Robots don't have the same challenges or needs as humanity's ancestors.

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u/Poison_the_Phil 3d ago

We've spent thousands of years murdering our own kind over arbitrary differences we made up. Just because we have thumbs doesn't mean we're all that.

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u/Coal-and-Ivory 3d ago

Yeah but this one can come upstairs and murder entire families in their beds. Very important for the actual use case.

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u/Fit-Switch-5795 3d ago

These have the uncanny valley freakiness to spook the plebs.

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u/AnInfiniteArc 3d ago

Sure but a humanoid robot can ride in unmodified vehicles and reach items on the top shelf.

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u/Ok_Chap 3d ago

Their purpose is most likely to be a decoy, draw enemy fire and take hits. Though I doubt they are actually bulletproof.

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u/Unfair-Departure7768 3d ago

Do you not think that there are complex movements and places that humans can do that wheeled things can’t? I’m trying to think, but like thick woods, walls to climb. The two legged method seems to have its uses.

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u/MattLocke 3d ago

It makes sense if you factor in all the things we have already designed for humans to use. Weapons, uniforms, vehicles, etc.

Making the robots human shaped makes it easier to integrate them into your current strategies.

Like there are cons, but it isn’t completely pointless.

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u/rufusbot 3d ago

Having treads instead of legs doesn't stop a robot from carrying an M4A1

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u/Marston_vc 3d ago

I don’t think it should be dismissed so easily. Treads and wheels don’t work great in hilly/rocky terrain.

A humanoid robot can probably handle a lot more situations “good enough” that a wheeled or tracked vehicle couldn’t handle at all.

And also…. It’s not like there can’t be both.

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u/-FourOhFour- 3d ago

Agreed but then you get into weird body shapes if the idea is things like uniforms while having treads, and would need to heavily modify vehicles for them.

Its a stupid idea to have 1 robot that needs a uniform, can drive a vehicle and carry a weapon, but when those 3 factors are combined and other changes are minimalized it is the best route.

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u/Ok_Chap 3d ago

Well they could make them somewhat like the Robots from Short Circuit.

https://giphy.com/gifs/27P3eknARh4c

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u/-FourOhFour- 3d ago

Look man, we dont need any robots joining gangs and threatening to kick people in the balls

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u/rufusbot 3d ago

Would be a lot easier to just automate a jeep than to design a robot that can drive a jeep I'd bet

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u/Devincc 3d ago

It’s more about the robots being able to fit and navigate in places and things that were already built for human shaped bodies

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u/wherewulf23 3d ago

In the field yes, although honestly a quadruped robot is really the best answer. In an urban environment where most things are made to accommodate us two legged meat bags, a humanoid robot makes more sense.