Once they lower the noise level of operating these robots, they will make terrifying weapons of war.
Iām going to have to re-think my āI only need a katanaā idea for the coming drone wars.
I know! Itās like the most annoying puppy EVER!
Heck, they donāt need to change it. Leave it as is, without any weapons, even. If I saw it and didnāt know what it was, Iād sure as hell run from it.
Iām hanging onto my Mauser.
When I see āwhose gallop is a precision joy to beholdā, I read that as, āhaving a gait that will send you tumbling down the uncanny valleyā. Terror weapon indeed! If James Cameron had had the budget, his Skynet would have had these kind of ground units.
Warfare has an aesthetic, and this thing is hideous in a very deliberate way.
Iām sure the next step will be some sort of fuel cell that that drives electric motors. It might be a bit heavier than that go-cart engine, but it will be simpler mechanically and probably even use multiple fuels in the field.
Ok whoās gonna be the first one to saddle this thing and ride it?
The advantages over wheels would probably be very limited except that this kind of unit would eventually be able to traverse very narrow trails and probably climb ladders. But even a wheeled vehicle could have Segway-style stability, so the gap in performance might be quite small.
so first big dog, now wildcat eh?
also, ditch the internal combustion engine, get a tesla style electric battery. this way they dont hear you coming a mile away.
also:
BEES!
Once they go into mass production they will be truly terrifying. If they can run quiet, they could swarm almost any installation, even just as self propelled bombs.
I can imagine āmuleā trains of these supplying outposts, with a few human and robot riders for defense. I can also imagine one on every street corner armed with cameras and weapons, keeping us all in line. Terrifying.
*less terrifying
Small holes, rope, and sharp corners are their weakness.
Weāll have to spend a lot more money on infrastructure before Iām terribly concerned. 
Theyāre really not any more impressive than a robot with big wheels for such things.
Or blimps with guns.
There was a really great robot proposed for off-earth exploration (donāt rememebr exactly where) that had long arm/leg extemities with wheels on the end. it could lock the wheels and walk, or unlock and roll. The arm/legs even had grabber, scooper multitools on them as well. Will post if I can find it
Agreed. As it is, it would be like getting attacked by a swarm of weedwhackers.
The engineās driving a hydraulic pump.
Wheeled vehicles are actually good only for wide open spaces. Legged robots are a hell of a lot more flexible.
I blame Valve for making this robot remind me so much of the Hunters from Half-Life 2 Episode 2.
I was sorry they didnāt include the part where a tiny TIE-fighter wrapped a cable around its legs. Then, inexplicably, it explodes!
