Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Say Hello: The Mantis



Today, I would like to introduce you to a gigantic, insect-looking, walking monstrocity. No, I am not kidding. Behold, the Mantis:

Yep, this thing is real.





What looks like a screenshot from the new Terminator movie is actually an all-terain human (or remote, but who cares about remote contol?) controlled vehicle. The vehicle, named Mantis, stands at over 2.8 meters tall and is over 1900 pounds. Obviously, it is not very fast, but when in motion, it is hypnotizing.

by all terrain, I mean ALL terain.

The machine is powered by a 2.2 litre turbo-charged Perkins diesel engine. Since the machine is supposed to be able to operate in a multitude of places, it is controlled by a fascinating array of electronics, including pressure, rotation, and incline sensors that tell 18 powerful hydraulic engines to move. Oh, for all the Linux fans out there, the transformers brains actually run on a special version of Linux called the HexEngine.



The robot is not for sale (I know what you were thinking), however, the website (http://www.mantisrobot.com) states that it can be rented out. Wanna give it a shot?

Here is a video of the vehicle in action:




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