Boston Dynamics Wildcat Can Gallop — No Strings Attached

Boston Dynamics has been making eye-catching (and sort of creepy) military-oriented robots for several years, and we've noted several times the Big Dog utility robot. The newest creation is the untethered, gas-powered Wildcat; this is definitely not something I want chasing after me. (Not as fast as the previous, tethered version — yet.)

Only one purpose

[Anonymous Coward]

We already have things that do this very well, that are faster, much more intelligent, quieter, less clumsy on their feet, and require far less energy to run for much longer periods of time - horses.

Now, don't get me wrong, I understand the whole "this is cool" aspect. But the only conceivable use for this project is as a drone weapons platform, presumably becoming autonomous as technology advances.

So whenever I read about things like this, my initial reaction is "what are they thinking?" followed by abject disgust for anyone involved in the project.

Government waste

[sonnejw0]

Why not just use a horse? Costs less, more reliable, powered by renewable resources ... the horse.

Re:Government waste

[alexgieg]

Because billions of years of evolving something that is incredibly good at what it does isn't deemed "high tech" enough

Evolution is slow. Evolution goes by trial and error rather than absolutely optimized engineering design and QA, and doesn't have any kind of recursive ability so as to improve its own methods. Sure, give it billions of years and the absolute minimum optimization capability and it'll make something that works pretty well, up to and including the human brain, but that's it. Now, give those human brains a solvable challenge and they'll work it out in a matter of centuries, if not decades, years or even just months.

So, sure, right now horses are better, after all nature got a few hundred millions years advantage before allowing us to start running, but we're catching up, and fast, very, very fast. In a few decades no living thing other than human beings will have any advantage left over our technologically-developed alternatives. And then it'll come the time for technology to outgrow even that last remaining bastion of biological-over-technological superiority too.

Re:Only one purpose

[AK Marc]

Helicopters got known as mobile weapon platforms because they were easy to hide. You fly in *under* the terrain (not subterranean, but under the peaks in that area, and possibly even below treetop level, some were known to have followed roads cut through forests), then pop up to shoot missiles, then drop below the terrain before return fire can be brought to bear.

The problem with helicopters is that small arms can bring them down. A helicopter armored to the level of an A-10 will not get off the ground. The mule is the UGV. Deliver ordinance to a location unmanned and without human risk. As a support vehicle, they are not yet ready for prime-time.