Some guy's rant on giant robots

[Stargate525]

Uh, if it can shoot over them, then it's standing over the houses, which means it's still an easy target.

No moreso than a soldier shooting over a trench.

I would still argue that the adaptability of leg-based movement in conjunction with the small footprint of a bipedal device makes them effective in an urban environment.

[Polycarp]

No moreso than a soldier shooting over a trench.

I would still argue that the adaptability of leg-based movement in conjunction with the small footprint of a bipedal device makes them effective in an urban environment.

A soldier shooting over a trench can expose around a square foot of himself, and very close to the ground.  I don't think a 25 foot tall robot would be capable of matching that.  He also probably built the trench for that specific purpose - random houses and buildings would probably be less accommodating.  Buildings are also highly destructible, unlike a hole in the earth, which can be made anywhere and is essentially indestructible (without using so much force that the guy inside is going to be vaporized anyway).

Modern urban environments are purpose-built for wheeled vehicles.  They are designed for large numbers of people to live in close proximity, totally accessible by automobiles.  A wheeled vehicle is logically best suited for urban environments.  It's more stable, has a lower profile, and in every other way is perfectly suited to the streets that modern urban areas are defined by.

Actually, there is already one place where bipedal locomotion is perfect - indoors.  Powered armor suits would be best used in places that only humans can go, and would thus be roughly human-scaled, at most a few feet taller.  Outdoors, such suits might replace combat infantry, but like modern infantry they would have to retain the small size and low profile of a person to be effective.

[beejazz]

The robot should be a sphere with six equidistant arms, each jointed at the "shoulder" and at the "elbow" with a sturdy, flexible joint that goes whatever way you need it too. Also the arms should be able to retract. The arms should end in something that could be either a gun or a manipulator (the barrel is the forearm, and the manipulator has three fingers at the end of the barrel), and behind that should be more flexible.

It could move by rolling and if it ever stood it would stand on three legs and have thee cannons sticking out above it.

[Elemental_Elf]

The robot should be a sphere with six equidistant arms, each jointed at the "shoulder" and at the "elbow" with a sturdy, flexible joint that goes whatever way you need it too. Also the arms should be able to retract. The arms should end in something that could be either a gun or a manipulator (the barrel is the forearm, and the manipulator has three fingers at the end of the barrel), and behind that should be more flexible.

It could move by rolling and if it ever stood it would stand on three legs and have thee cannons sticking out above it.

That's a pretty cool idea... Not really traditional Robot Mech but still really cool. Sorta reminds me of the Outlaw Star, just in a ball and a tiny bit more practical, lol.

[the_taken]

The robot should be a sphere with six equidistant arms, each jointed at the "shoulder" and at the "elbow" with a sturdy, flexible joint that goes whatever way you need it too. Also the arms should be able to retract. The arms should end in something that could be either a gun or a manipulator (the barrel is the forearm, and the manipulator has three fingers at the end of the barrel), and behind that should be more flexible.

It could move by rolling and if it ever stood it would stand on three legs and have thee cannons sticking out above it.

Sounds like Syndrome's giant robot...

[SDragon]

Looks I'm going to be taking the devil's advocate position, then.

I think mechas are a suitable platform for future military action.

Disclaimer. I'm not referring to machas as big as the chrysler building, I'm talking mechas that are maybe 25 feet tall, if that. Still frikkin huge if you're standing right next to it.

Bipedal robots are smart.
The bipedal system has one advantage that the original poster failed to mention; it's compact. Quadruped or greater systems will most likely be designed similar to a spider, aka legs far out from the body in order to present a low center of gravity. This makes the issue that you're going to have osme difficulty navigating the increasingly urban environment that wars are taking place in. In a narrow street, I'd prefer a little bit of correctable (by spreading the legs) instability with a small footprint than be forced to smash buildings on either side to get my spiderbot-o-doom through.

Robot hands are smart.
It's exactly a matter of practicality. hands are a multi-functioning, almost universal port for physcial objects. That mech need a rocket launcher, it'll fit. Machine gun, no problem. Flamethrower, you betcha. Out of ammo? Drop the gun and pick up the handy nearby automobile, lightpost, enemy soldier, you name it.

Universal weapons and attachments can be welded onto the shoulders or simialr locations, thus keeping the hands free. In an age where human hands aren't difficult to produce, why not put them in and go for the extra adaptability at little to no extra cost?

giant robots are stupid.
I agree to the extent that the original poster used the term 'giant.' To a soldier, I'd say a twenty-five foot robot would be classified as giant. That might just be me.

Even so, I'd like to propose one situation in where a giant device the size he posits might be feasible. A mobile, self-contained invasion force. Troop transport, refueling pads for gunships, tactical command, and emergency hospital in one central location. Granted, things like this would probably look more like the hardcell transports from episode two, but it's still giant robot...

Agreed completely. the compact bipedal design allows for more mobility, especially in tight, mazelike areas. The stability issue can be resolved by either lowering the center of gravity (I was thinking heavy feet, but SG's idea works, too), gyroscopic balancers (I'm not sure how well gyroscopes would work during rest, so this might only work during active time), creating a crouching rest position, bringing all it's weight as low as possible (only really effective during rest, though), or some combination of the three.

I will conceed to the whole issue of giant robots, though. Smaller equipment uses less resources, therefore costing less money, and (as mentioned) provide harder targets. That said, not all humanoid anime robots are "giant". There's Al from Full Metal Alchemist, and J from Heat Guy J, to name a couple that aren't huge. I think even if we were to include the whole internal human pilot qualifier, we'd have something much closer to Iron Man then Gundam. However, since there's the issue of being able to design something as small as a normal-sized human, I think SG's idea of a 25-foot mecha would be more realistic.

By the way, now I want my own 25-foot spiderbot-o-doom.....

[Elemental_Elf]

[spoiler=Geno Saurer]
  [/spoiler]

I wonder if something like the GenoSaurer from Zoids might be a good compromise. Granted it would need to be smaller but never the less it is a bipedal Mech that wouldn't have the same balance issues that a humanoid Mech would.

[beejazz]

One could go with a "centaur" design. Kind of a cross between those in Ghost in the Shell and those in the Akira manga with a human-esque torso placed on top. One arm could use an electrolaser and the other could be armed with the end of a hose for delivering chemical weapons... by which I mean some kind of fast-drying plastic as a mech countermeasure (seen in both Ghost in the Shell and Evangelion's "bakelite") or maybe a gas weapon that would induce sleep.

I've got so many "practical" mech pictures just lying around. I wish I had access to a scanner.

But yeah... I doubt we'll ever see Big O just strollin' down the street.

[Elemental_Elf]

But yeah... I doubt we'll ever see Big O just strollin' down the street.

Maybe in Civilian Parades... :)

[Wensleydale]

Hmm. I could see one of those AT-STs or whatever they're called existing, because of the fact that legs - suitably advanced - could be effective for climbing over rough terrain. However, it'd be extremely difficult to make such a thing, and it would most likely be much easier to use a helicopter. They would be good for impressing people, though. Impressing, scaring, maybe crowd control. Spider-like vehicles seem more effective, though.

[Polycarp]

Military technology has been tending towards the miniature for some time now.  As the original essay says:

We'd rather have a swarm of destroyers and fast-attack boats than one big dreadnought, if only to avoid the issue of making a big giant target. Same goes for robot warriors.

http://strangevehicles.greyfalcon.us/Picturesc/ratte7.jpg[/img]

[Elemental_Elf]

The future of warfare is in the miniature and the virtual - precision munitions, electronic warfare, and so on.  "Boots on the ground" will always be needed, but that's infantry, not massive gun platforms.

Mechs larger than a jeep are about as likely as the Landkreuzer Ratte, a particularly insane WWII-era German idea.

As of right now, yes the idea of giant mech warfare seems fanciful (at best) but come a hundred years from now... who knows? Remember at one time people said Aircraft carriers were a waste of time and money, who knows what the future will hold.

Also, I think we're forgetting that there are 2 separate (but some what linked) markets for Giant Humanoid Mechs - The Entertainment Industry and Eccentric Rich Guys! Can you imagine the future when we have something like "The Ultimate Mech Battle League" and car shows where people show off their pimped out Gundams?

[Polycarp]

As of right now, yes the idea of giant mech warfare seems fanciful (at best) but come a hundred years from now... who knows? Remember at one time people said Aircraft carriers were a waste of time and money, who knows what the future will hold.

"Fanciful at best" is also how I would put it. :)

[Eltharon]

I think that small (under 10 feet) mechs (probably not bipedal, though), piloted or not, will be effective in rough environments where tracked or wheeled vehicles would have problems and heavy weapons are needed. Anything bigger and there's no way you could ever hide the thing.
Of course, by the time that some form of walker is feasible, I'm sure that smart (designated by a squad member from 10 miles away) missiles from a nearby helicopter or plane will be able to provide all the close support that infantry needs .
But who knows, eh?

[beejazz]

I think the implementation of robots on the battlefield will forgo the "giant" and "anthropomorphic" bits, but fully exploit the "unmanned" potential. We're already using unmanned aircraft and bomb-diffusing robots. As for legs, legs with tracks or wheels are already in development for lunar or mars rovers. I could probably link you to footage of such robots given time.

So I predict that robots will become increasingly common in modern warfare, albeit unmanned, un-anthropomorphic, and un-giant. Maybe not the romantic image of armored knights, but a series of compact, practical killing machines.