Get the latest tech news

The Army and Marines Are Both Pursuing Robo-Mules


The robots will help ground pounders carry their stuff…or help them carry even more stuff.

The services are at various stages of progress, but they all share the same goal—to deploy drones the size of all-terrain vehicles, whose mission is to make the lowly infantry person’s load just a little bit lighter. In a 2018 experiment, the Army tested SMET candidates by fitting them with “Nine rucksacks, six boxes of MREs, and four water cans… about the equivalent of what a long-range mission for a light infantry unit would need to carry.” In that scenario, soldiers carrying only their personal weapons could maneuver against the enemy more effectively, had greater situational awareness, and arrived at their objective not totally bushed. The Marines have not yet picked a MUTT—their focus on seizing islands in the South China Sea that are seldom more than a half mile wide makes a robo-mule less of a priority than autonomous vehicles like boats and aircraft.

Get the Android app

Or read this on r/technology

Read more on:

Photo of Army

Army

Photo of Marines

Marines

Photo of mules

mules

Related news:

News photo

Palantir wins $178M Army deal for TITAN artificial intelligence-enabled ground stations - the Army's "first AI-defined vehicle"

News photo

Drones replacing Army helicopter program

News photo

Army to field new rifle, machine gun and optic in 2024