BEAR Gives Casualties Something To Smile About
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Tuesday, 13 of July , 2010 at 12:10 am
Vecna Robotics’ BEAR Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot has been getting a workout at the Maneuver Battle Lab at Ft. Benning, courtesy of the US Army. What sets BEAR apart from other battlefield robots (like the Talon or Warrior) is its lift capacity of 500 pounds on two arms, which is a lot, like, seriously, a lot. PR2, for example, lifts about 4 pounds with each arm, which is a fairly typical payload for a domestic assistance robot. 500 pounds of payload means that BEAR can lift me three and a half times over, and look cute while doing so.
Speaking of, it turns out that those cute lil’ ears aren’t just for show: BEAR is cute to help calm down casualties, making the whole “you’re horribly injured but it’s okay because I’m a robot and I’m here to help” experience a bit more “pleasant.”
[ Vecna Robotics ]
Thanks Andy!
Comments (4)
Category: Military
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Comment by Farle
Made Tuesday, 13 of July , 2010 at 9:22 am
Wow, it looks fancy, but I can just picture it now:
A firefight is happening, enemies are firing at friendies, friendlies take some casualities, so they call in BEAR.
On arrival, BEAR gets shot into dust because it looks damn intimidating And/Or someone has recently watched Terminator 3 and figured the machine uprising was on :p
Seems abit too much like a bullet magnet to me.
Comment by Stefan
Made Tuesday, 13 of July , 2010 at 11:25 am
We designed and built this for our Senior Design project….
Comment by Gomneran
Made Tuesday, 13 of July , 2010 at 12:06 pm
Evacuation? not that the giant paws are frightening enough, load them with 500 pounds of arms like a giant minigun and you got the scariest soldier ever…ohh this staring bear eyes and the cute ears will strike fear in the heart of the enemy…
Comment by Emilie
Made Wednesday, 14 of July , 2010 at 7:23 am
Any estimates on when Vecna expects the BEAR to be fully deployed onto the battlefield? Seems like hauling an inanimate dummy will be a lot different than handling a real human in distress. But at least it’s a start!
In the meantime, the BEAR can help with other important military tasks that are perhaps more ideally suited for robots, like delivering supplies and handling munitions, thanks to its whopping payload capacity. Read more about how the BEAR robot can help save military costs, in addition to lives: http://labviewrobotics.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/vecna-bear-military-ugv-a-jack-of-all-trades/
