Marines experiment with robot capabilities

QUANTICO, Va., Sept. 18 (UPI) -- A quadruped prototype robot has demonstrated its field capabilities in weeklong testing by the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory.

The testing of the 160-pound robot, nicknamed Spot, was conducted this week for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which trained the Marines on how to operate it.

"We want to continue to experiment with quadruped technology and find ways that this can be employed to enhance the Marine Corps warfighting capabilties," Capt. James Pineiro, the branch head for Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, said after the tests. "The Marines have been very receptive to the new technology, embrace it and come up with new ideas we couldn't even dream up."

Spot is electrically powered and hydraulically actuated. It was designed by Boston Dynamics and is controlled by radio link by an operator equipped with a laptop computer and a video game controller. It can be controlled from a distance as much as 500 yards.

The experiments conducted at the Marine base at Quantico, Va., were conducted on different terrains -- hills, woodlands and even in urban environments and involved scenarios such as load carrying and entering buildings as a reconnaissance asset.

The Marine Corps said the robot is not intended to enter operational use but is rather for experimentation purposes.

"We continue to invest in research and development of robotics and autonomy to find ways to reduce threat to Marines and enhance our capability at the same time," Pineiro said.