DARPA's Legged Squad Support System (LS3) LS3 - Legged Squad Support System - YouTube The Legged Squad Support System (LS3) is a rough-terrain robot developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from DARPA and the US Marine Corps.
It is designed to carry 400 lbs of payload and travel 20 miles without refueling. LS3 has sensors that let it follow a human leader while avoiding obstacles in the terrain. For more information visit www.BostonDynamics.com. Boston Dynamics: Dedicated to the Science and Art of How Things Move. Boston Dynamics builds advanced robots with remarkable behavior: mobility, agility, dexterity and speed. Boston Dynamics has assembled an extraordinary team to develop the LS3, including engineers and scientists from Boston Dynamics, Bell Helicopter, AAI Corporation, Carnegie Mellon, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Woodward HRT. Meet Boston Dynamics' LS3 – the latest robotic war machine.
On first viewing Boston Dynamics' latest creation, the LS3 (Legged Squad Support System), I could not help but be taken back to the AT-AT (All Terrain Armoured Transport) walker, as depicted in the Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back.
But it is the AT-TE (All Terrain Tactical Enforcer) walker that appears in Attack of the Clones which strikes the most eerie resemblance to the LS3 concept, as the two images below demonstrate. Star Wars toys have become, it seems, real-world creations. The only discernible difference is that the AT-TE is a six legged beast, while the LS3 has been dubbed the “packed mule”. According to Boston Dynamics - which made its name with the development of the BigDog quadruped robot in 2005 - the LS3 has been designed to accompany war fighters into battle, carrying 180kg payloads and freeing up troops that would otherwise be carrying such equipment themselves. The demonstration video below gives a sense of the LS3 in action.
Earlier this month, Army Lt. Run! DARPA's LS3 robot mule follows you around. Let the human-hunting games begin.
Boston Dynamics has a new video of its oversized beast pursuing defenseless human meatsacks through a forest. The Legged Squad Support System (LS3), aka AlphaDog, is designed to carry 400 pounds of payload and travel 20 miles without refueling. It's funded by DARPA and the U.S. Marine Corps and is meant to support troops in rugged terrain. The latest video shows the cow-size monster clambering over rocks and up steep hillsides with heavy weights on its sides. Then it plays a game of "follow the leader," slowly pursuing a human guide through fields and along country roads. It can also stand up when it's on its side on the ground.
It can also maneuver to preset locations with its sensors and by using GPS. So far, the LS3 is still relatively slow and noisy, but how long will we enjoy that edge over it? Latest AlphaDog Robot Prototypes Get Less Noisy, More Brainy. For those of you who clicked a link in IEEE Spectrum Tech Alert and expected to see the article about terahertz technology, it can be found here.
Sorry for the inconvenience. I'm not exactly sure what you'd call a group of Boston Dynamics' LS3 "AlphaDog" robotic pack animals. A herd, I guess? Two LS3s might not quite constitute a herd, but it's certainly impressive to see both of them in operation, and just as impressive is this demonstration of some new features including autonomous person following and a much quieter engine. New DARPA robot could make Marine pack mules obsolete (+video) The sure-footed mule, long a mainstay of US Marine operations in mountainous areas, may soon find itself replaced by a robot.
Skip to next paragraph Subscribe Today to the Monitor Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS ofThe Christian Science MonitorWeekly Digital Edition Developed by the USMC's Warfighting Lab, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and Boston Dynamics, the Legged Squad Support System (LS3) can walk up to 3mph for 20 miles, and can job for short bursts at 8mph, all while carrying up to 400 pounds. Knock it over, and it will stand up again.
The LS3, or AlphaDog, as it is known, represents an improvement over Boston Dynamic's previous robo-mule, a smaller robot called BigDog. New LS3 military robot supports U.S. military. The U.S. new technologies agency DARPA is developing a legged robotic support soldier that can carry gear for American soldiers in military situations, and is intelligent enough to understand verbal and visual commands from humans.
DARPA Legged Squad Support System (LS3) Demonstrates New Capabilities. DARPA Legged Squad Support System (LS3) Legged Squad Support System (LS3) Today’s dismounted warfighter can be saddled with more than 100 pounds of gear, resulting in physical strain, fatigue and degraded performance.
Reducing the load on dismounted warfighters has become a major point of emphasis for defense research and development, because the increasing weight of individual equipment has a negative impact on warfighter readiness. The Army has identified physical overburden as one of its top five science and technology challenges. DARPA advances LS3 quadruped robot program. LS3 is conceived as an autonomous support pack-robot for ground troops (Image: Boston Dynamics) Image Gallery (41 images) Walking quadrupeds are being cast to play a major role in the rapidly unfolding age of robotics.
The platform promises versatility far beyond that of wheeled-vehicles and will undoubtedly find applications in a wide variety of fields. Boston Dynamics: Dedicated to the Science and Art of How Things Move. Boston Dynamics.