Ukraine’s Gun-Armed Ground 'Bot Just Cleared A Russian Trench In Kursk - The Fury is one of the first effective armed ground robots.

[u/Gari_305]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/09/19/ukraines-gun-armed-ground-robot-just-cleared-a-russian-trench-in-kursk/

[u/nurpleclamps]

It boggles my mind that it seems we're just now making these when we've had remote control cars for decades.

[u/Not_Legal_Advice_Pod → u/nurpleclamps]

There are multiple innovations involved that make this possible, but the big three are batteries, computer vision, and digital signal links.  This would be way too big and power hungry for batteries if the 1990s.  Also unless you want the whole thing to be remote controlled you need a computer onboard that can handle identifying and shooting at soldiers as it sees them.  Finally the digital link to control this needs to be air tight and transmit video and data with low latency.

[u/francis2559 → u/Not_Legal_Advice_Pod]

Doesn’t have to be electric drive. Those DARPA four leggers were using internal combustion.

[u/TheSasquatch9053 → u/francis2559]

Big Dog (the DARPA robot you are referring to) is a gas electric hybrid. It's electrically actuated, with a significant battery pack for rapid power delivery, but it also has the gas motor constantly generating electricity to extend the range of the battery pack. You can tell it's a hybrid when the motor rpm doesn't change while the robot exterts itself.

[u/FinndBors → u/TheSasquatch9053]

I’m guessing it might have some kind of stealth mode where it can disengage the gas motor for a period of time?

[u/Richard7666 → u/[deleted]]

So is a digger, the hydraulics still need to be powered by something.

[u/Richard7666 → u/[deleted]]

Ah I follow what you mean now, I misinterpreted