By Kyle Mizokami
An Army requirement for an autonomous equipment-carrying robot could be familiar to hunters and sportsmen: an all-terrain vehicle. Polaris's MRZR-X robotic vehicle could help infantrymen carry the extra supplies into battle—beans, bullets, and gadgets—that will help them survive on their own longer.
As a rule of thumb, human beings can carry about third of their body weight for extended periods. Ffter that, they become significantly impaired. More than fifty years, ago, the Army historian S.L.A. Marshall wrote his classic The Soldier's Load and the Mobility of a Nation. Marshall warned against overloading the infantryman, who traditionally had to carry everything on his back into battle. The heavier the load, the less mobile the soldier was and unable to accomplish the mission.
Fifty years later, the Army still hasn't taken the advice. Helmet, body armor, food, water, night vision devices, a soldier's weapon, ammunition, hand grenades, first aid equipment and other gear can easily push the modern soldier's load up to 80 pounds, and if a soldier helps carry, for example, mortar or machine gun ammunition that load can go up to 100 pounds. In a classic military Catch-22, the infantryman's ability to accomplish the mission is undermined by the weight of equipment necessary to accomplish the mission.A new Army program could finally provide the answer. The Squad Mission Equipment Transport, or SMET, is designed to provide soldiers with a robotic tag-along vehicle that functions much like a pack mule. Under SMET, each infantry squad would be assigned its own pack mule, which could carry food, water, extra ammunition, casualty litters, and other mission-important gear like anti-tank weapons. This would lighten the load for individual soldiers who could travel greater distances and tackle more difficult terrain. In the past, the Army has explored but ultimately rejected other robotic mules, with wheels and legs alike. Perhaps the SMET will be different.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a28561/squad-mission-equipment-transport-the-us-armys-robotic-mule/
