Marines test Google's latest military robot
The latest version of a walking, quadruped battlefield robot from Boston Dynamics, the military robotics maker owned by Google X, was tested by U.S. Marines last week.
Spot weighs about 70kgs, is electrically operated and walks on four hydraulically actuated legs. It's controlled via wireless by an operator who can be up to 500 meters away.
It underwent trials and testing at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia as part of evaluations by the Marines on future military uses of robotic technology. In a series of missions, it was evaluated in different terrains including hills, woodlands and urban areas.
Ben Swilling, a roboticist from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency operates Spot, a quadruped prototype robot developed by Google's Boston Dynamics, during a demonstration at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., Sept. 16, 2015.
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