Tough All-Terrain Military Robot Unveiled

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A teleoperated Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle. (Image credit: Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center)

Researchers unveiled today a unique unmanned military vehicle prototype that combines mobility, payload-carrying capacity, and ruggedness to aid troops in combat.

The "Crusher" is a 6.5-ton vehicle made of high-strength aluminum tubes and titanium nodes protected by a steel skid plate that can absorb shocks from impacts with rocks and other objects.

With electric motors set in the vehicles' six wheels and powered by a hybrid system that uses a turbo diesel generator, the Crusher can travel almost 26 mph.

"We're developing Crusher to provide technology insights to the broader Army community to show people what can be done and pave the way for the future," said John Bares, director of the National Robotics Engineering Center and the principal investigator for the project. "Although it's not being designed for production, Crusher could be matured further to withstand the rigors of military fielding."

Automated forces like Crusher might initially be used in support roles and later for tactical functions, researchers predict.

"In five to 10 years, we should see robots working alongside our troops to protect them and help with tasks in the field," Bares said.

The technologies used in the development of the Crusher can also have potential use in fields such as construction, faming, and mining.

Sara Goudarzi
Sara Goudarzi
Sara Goudarzi is a Brooklyn writer and poet and covers all that piques her curiosity, from cosmology to climate change to the intersection of art and science. Sara holds an M.A. from New York University, Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, and an M.S. from Rutgers University. She teaches writing at NYU and is at work on a first novel in which literature is garnished with science.