LS3, or Legged Squad Support Systems, a robot developed by tech company Boston Dynamics that was intended to assist marines in the field, has received a dishonorable discharge of sorts. The Marines are not interested in the technology in its current state, though they have have expressed an interest in the idea behind the tech.
According to NBC News, the robot, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, was able to carry up to 400 pounds of equipment on its back.
This, combined with the bot’s ability to intuitively traverse its terrain with four faux-biological legs and its ability to operate without anybody in direct control, made it a valuable proposition for the Marines.
However, due to the LS3’s noisiness, the Marines have opted not to use the robot.
“As Marines wee using it, there was the challenge of seeing the potential possibility because of the limitations of the robot itself,” Kyle Orson, a spokesman for the Warfighting lab, said in an interview with Military.com. “They took it as it was: a loud robot that’s going ot give away their position.”
The LS3 could run for 24 hours straight on a 20-mile mission and, because of its unique and innovative terrain traversal technology, it is able to traverse rough terrain that certain robots might be unable to reach.
Additionally, the robot could function completely without an operator, as it works off of visual cues from the soldiers whose equipment it is carrying.
Even though they might not be interested in the LS3 itself, the Marines have expressed an interest in using similar, quieter technology in the future.
“The Marine Corps isn’t looking for a fair fight,” said Orson, who added that the Marine Corps understands “the necessity of autonomous, unmanned, and robotic capabilities” to “lighted the load” of soldiers in the future.”
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