BAE Systems is developing electronic spiders, insects, and snakes to help soldiers gather information without exposing them to dangerous situations on the battlefield, according an announcement the defense giant released this week. The effort is being funded by a $38 million agreement with the U.S. Army.

The Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) Collaborative Technology Alliance aims to create miniature robots that will act as the eyes and ears of soldiers in dangerous situations, such caves and mountainous areas, potentially saving many lives.

A promotional video released by BEA depicts some of the prospective designs and how soldiers might deploy and process the information the robots gather. The video shows robot spiders scurrying around corners and mechanical dragonflies hovering in windows, with images transmitted to wrist-mounted monitors and command centers, warning them of potential threats.

"Robotic platforms extend the warfighter's senses and reach, providing operational capabilities that would otherwise be costly, impossible, or deadly to achieve," said Joseph Mait, MAST cooperative agreement manager for the Army Research Laboratory.

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Posted at 06:05AM May 05, 2008 by Kevin P McAuliffe in Astound  |  Comments[0]