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Goverments and government entities always pay way too much for stuff.
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You’ve got to be kidding! $8k? The paperwork involved in buying one will cost that much. Of course they were paid to develop it! First and fortunately, at this time there’s not a huge commercial market out there for IED finding robots; so, the private sector isn’t likely to invest RD&E funds, when they could loose it all if they don’t win some potential government contract. Secondly, it would cost more for the government to develop one than to pay someone who’s willing and able. They have rules regulations and many levels of planning and then oversight aimed to protect the taxpayer’s money while in the hands of the govt. employees. The private sector doesn’t have that kind of overhead. Third is that government R & D is supposed to be doing the pie-in-the-sky kinds of things that the private sector just can’t afford, and to oversee and fund the commercial sector to do all the rest – it’s good for the economy! Finally, the government would have to contract the manufacture anyway, so why not the development? Each operation (as in Enduring Freedom or Desert Storm) presents a unique set of problems that the government RD&E centers have to address ASAP. Right now they’re busy building upgrade armor kits; it could be something else tomorrow; they can’t loose that functionality by converting even one design and machine shop into a robot factory.
I think the cheap robot idea is great! However, I don’t believe the claim:
It is not intended for or to be used to physically touch, bump, modify, or attempt to disable suspected IEDs. If I were out there with an $8k robot, that’s exactly what I’d do with it - better the robot than my buddy goes kaboom!
On the other hand, I see a lot of short falls with the MARCBOT. The limited mobility and mono vision would require the soldier to be in close proximity. They don’t mention range, but I’d bet that the soldier would often have to keep line of sight contact with it, which makes him an easy target. Not only that, it looks to be unable to right itself; so the bad guy just sits back and plinks whomever it is that comes out to set it upright. Also, I fear that it gives the soldier a false sense of security. The terrorists don’t hang a big yellow “Caution – IED” signs on the things! So, some grunt thinks the area is cool and ends up in pieces.
All that, along with the fact that it’s too tall to inspect under vehicles, makes me think that the MARCBOT is good for exactly what they claim it isn’t – getting itself blown up.
I’d accept that! But if I were out there keeping America safe by keeping the bad guys busy over there, I’d also want to have me a $25k - $50k robot the sniff out explosives, interrogate the IR signature, climb stairs, work right-side-up and/or up-side-down, and check under the rocks that the evil dooers crawl out from.