From: David M Ursin (acmack@juno.com)
Date: Fri Mar 01 2002 - 18:01:23 PST
The military has been trying out radio controlled wheeled and tracked
platforms since the 50s'. I have one that I'm restoring. It's a 6x6 that
runs on a early mule motor. In fact the whole unit is about the size of a
mule. Major Crismons' book covers one or two of the prototypes. With the
advance in computers and small imaging devices the military has been
taking a new look and moving beyond radio controlled and into autonomous
platforms. Dark Star is a good example. The magazine AUVS reports
regularly on military (and civilian ) advances in these devices. You'd be
surprised at how many unmanned vehicles with and w/o weapons are soon to
be fielded. They include unmanned, self guided Humvees, Bradleys and the
Marines are close to deploying a robot ( actually dozens ) that deploy
just prior to a beach landing and scurry around homing in on any
explosive material or mines then detonate to secure a beach head.
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