CMU's Crusher military bot rumbles onto the scene

Although notquite as stealthy as some of the other spybots that weve seen, the 6.5-ton Crusher UGCV (Unmanned Ground CombatVehicle), with its 8,000-pound payload and one-kilometer range, is certainly more versatile than your typical robosnake or Packbot. Unveiled today by the National Robotics Engineering Center(NREC) at Carnegie Mellons School of Computer Sciences Robotics Institute, Crusher, like its predecessor Spinner, wascommissioned by DARPA to provide combat troops with a durable cargo and surveillance option that can operate mostlyautonomously even in rough terrain. Crusher is powered by a series of electric motors whose batteries are charged witha turbo diesel generator -- giving it a top speed of 26 miles-per-hour -- and manages to avoid obstacles using an arrayof cameras and ladar lidar. Although its first two years of service will be restricted to support roleduties, Army and DARPA officials will use Crushers performance during the probationary period to evaluate itspotential use in combat as well. [Warning: PDF link]