General Electric Cybernetic Anthropomorphous Machine System

[flateric]

I wonder if anyone have more photos of this Ralph S. Mosher engineering wonder?

 

[Sferrin]

Never ceases to amaze me (and depress me) how much they were able to accomplish "back in the day" with the tools they had compared to today. When did the world become terrified of risk?

 

[Howedar]

Don't sell short the present; it's certainly not as capable as

Big Dog.

 

[Rickshaw]

You have to ask, whats the point? Such machines suffer from high ground pressures and problems with balance. They tend to be noisy and also have problems carrying sufficient fuel (or even a power source - note how the early one had cables for power coming off it to an external power source) to be practicable. Pack-animals are better value for money.

Sometimes the simpler solution is the best one.

 

[Michel Van]

who say this idea is Death ?

[flash=200,200]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2V8GFqk_Y[/flash]
Timberjack Walking Machine

[flash=200,200]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAgXUGCbKdk[/flash]
i don't know how the last one goes around a corner...

here is also the Hardiman
the first attempt to build a practical powered exoskeleton, by General Electric in 1965.
unclear who build it, but its info is publish mostly with Ralph S. Mosher "Walking Truck"
some say its a GE study for NASA
http://davidszondy.com/future/robot/hardiman.htm
i look in my books collection if i find some info...

 

[Rickshaw]

Both suffer from the problem of high ground pressures. I'd also question the second, eight legged? machine's ability to move on anything except a relatively flat surface.

 

[amsci99]

How about a wheeled and limb soloution from the anime mecha world of Ghost in the Shell.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachikoma

 

[Sferrin]

You have to ask, whats the point? Such machines suffer from high ground pressures and problems with balance. They tend to be noisy and also have problems carrying sufficient fuel (or even a power source - note how the early one had cables for power coming off it to an external power source) to be practicable. Pack-animals are better value for money.

Sometimes the simpler solution is the best one.

Not only that, you don't need to add a maintanance team to your squad.

 

[Just call me Ray]

How about a wheeled and limb soloution from the anime mecha world of Ghost in the Shell.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachikoma

Plus they're cute, if you've ever actually heard them

 

[TomS]

You have to ask, whats the point? Such machines suffer from high ground pressures and problems with balance. They tend to be noisy and also have problems carrying sufficient fuel (or even a power source - note how the early one had cables for power coming off it to an external power source) to be practicable. Pack-animals are better value for money.

Sometimes the simpler solution is the best one.

Not only that, you don't need to add a maintanance team to your squad.

Mules actually require a lot of maintenance -- pack trains tend to have a lot of veterinarians, farrier, etc. Also, a mule eats up a surprising amount of logistics -- 25 pounds of food and nearly 50 pounds of water a day when working. Worse, those requirements doesn't go away in garrison or in transit. You can't just switch off your mules, pack them up, put them on a ship or airplane to get to the theater of operations, then unpack them and switch them on when they arrive.

A mechanized equivalent might go through a few gallons of fuel every day, but that's already in the log pipeline anyway. And you can ship it, store it, and turn it on only when needed.

And then there's the whole issue of independent-minded animals. A horse or mule may well decide a situation looks too dangerous and simply refuse to go. Walking robots may balk at some terrain, but they won't stop in their tracks or bolt for safety when the shooting starts.

 

[Rickshaw]

Ah, but you're never alone with a mule.

You should also take into account that your mechanical device requires support personnel, spare parts support, supply lines and an industrial base to support it. Mules do not. Yes, they do require fodder and water and veterinary care. Your mechanical device has yet to be perfected. Mules already are here and they work.

So, I'd still come down on the side of the Mule.

 

[flateric]

Well, actually, I was asking not for Mr.Mule vs. Mr.BigDog discussion, but for photos...

 

[Rickshaw]

Well, actually, I was asking not for Mr.Mule vs. Mr.BigDog discussion, but for photos...

Sure, here you go!

Or are these more to your liking?

 

[Just call me Ray]

You have to ask, whats the point? Such machines suffer from high ground pressures and problems with balance. They tend to be noisy and also have problems carrying sufficient fuel (or even a power source - note how the early one had cables for power coming off it to an external power source) to be practicable. Pack-animals are better value for money.

Sometimes the simpler solution is the best one.

Not only that, you don't need to add a maintanance team to your squad.

Mules actually require a lot of maintenance -- pack trains tend to have a lot of veterinarians, farrier, etc. Also, a mule eats up a surprising amount of logistics -- 25 pounds of food and nearly 50 pounds of water a day when working. Worse, those requirements doesn't go away in garrison or in transit. You can't just switch off your mules, pack them up, put them on a ship or airplane to get to the theater of operations, then unpack them and switch them on when they arrive.

A mechanized equivalent might go through a few gallons of fuel every day, but that's already in the log pipeline anyway. And you can ship it, store it, and turn it on only when needed.

And then there's the whole issue of independent-minded animals. A horse or mule may well decide a situation looks too dangerous and simply refuse to go. Walking robots may balk at some terrain, but they won't stop in their tracks or bolt for safety when the shooting starts.

Are the mules "acquired in-theatre" or are they shipped? I would think the former, with any handlers/veterinarians being likewise.

 

[Jschmus]

I visited the US Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis in Virginia on Wednesday, and they had the Cybernetic Walking Machine in an open air (under a solid canopy) enclosure outside.

They have a number of other goodies folk here might be interested in, like the Curtiss-Wright Aerocar and the Doak VZ-4 VTOL prototype.

 

[Rickshaw]

What were the outriggers for?

 

[Just call me Ray]

I would assume to keep the thing from completely tipping over on its side - perhaps that actually happened once.

 

[Rickshaw]

I would assume to keep the thing from completely tipping over on its side - perhaps that actually happened once.

Would be interestng to find out if there was any means to self-right itself after that happened. Mules (as in real live ones) have that advantage.

 

[flateric]

I visited the US Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis in Virginia on Wednesday, and they had the Cybernetic Walking Machine in an open air (under a solid canopy) enclosure outside.

They have a number of other goodies folk here might be interested in, like the Curtiss-Wright Aerocar and the Doak VZ-4 VTOL prototype.

Thank you very much for GE CAMS photos - and of course, if you have more stuff from USATM, your postings will be much appreciated.

 

[Just call me Ray]

Would be interestng to find out if there was any means to self-right itself after that happened.

I doubt it, hence the outriggers.