
GE's Walking Truck (1969) [video] - YeGoblynQueenne
http://www.educatedearth.net/video.php?id=5000
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scoot
These two quotations taken from the different commentaries that were included
in that short clip point sit well together, and, particularly the latter, hint
at the kind of AI that were are only now beginning to see as the missing link
in the success of this kind of machine.

 _" The strain of thinking about which leg to move next exhausted the
operator"_

 _" The interfacing of this technology with a more advanced one will bring us
that much closer to the realisation of a mechanical man."_

The mechanics have a surprising dexterity and finesse compared to compared to
even modern machines that use hydraulics to allow humans to directly control
the actuators (think JCB style backhoe digger).

~~~
Animats
_" The mechanics have a surprising dexterity and finesse compared to compared
to even modern machines that use hydraulics to allow humans to directly
control the actuators (think JCB style backhoe digger)."_

Backhoes with good haptic feedback have been built, but never became a
product. That's surprising. There was one in the 1980s which was good enough
that you could dig around a pipe by feel without breaking the pipe. Great for
those jobs where you're working in a water and mud filled hole. Time to look
at that problem again.

~~~
digi_owl
I guess the price was too high for what it offered vs just filing a damage
report if ever a pipe got mangled.

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i000
Apparently there are tree pruning machines with a similar design:
[https://youtu.be/CpdZyJ0Y1jE?t=472](https://youtu.be/CpdZyJ0Y1jE?t=472)

~~~
douglasfshearer
The walking tree harvester, called PlusJack, was a development project by
Timberjack (now part of John Deere) revealed in 1999.

The machine never entered production due to high manufacturing and maintenance
costs, as well as the speed at which it could cover ground.

The prototype is now housed in The Museum of Lusto [1] in Finland (near bottom
of page for pictures).

[1] [http://www.unusuallocomotion.com/pages/museums/museum-of-
lus...](http://www.unusuallocomotion.com/pages/museums/museum-of-lusto-in-
finland-forest-machinery.html)

~~~
Animats
Deere / Timberjack was beaten out by Ponsse.[1] Four wheels, two caterpillar
tracks, and an articulated chassis. Probably lower ground pressure than the
six-legged machine, because the heavy loads are on wide tracks.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daCCTuaiY0Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daCCTuaiY0Q)

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nxzero
Just a heads up that a quick Google returns more videos, Wikipedia, etc. for
this robot:

[https://www.google.com/search?q=ge+walking+truck](https://www.google.com/search?q=ge+walking+truck)

Wikipedia:
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_truck](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_truck)

~~~
YeGoblynQueenne
Thanks. There's more material out there, indeed, so I had to make a choice of
what to post.

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wazoox
I can't see this video for some reason, but I remember seeing this beast as a
child in the memorable "Science & Vie hors série" "Robots" magazine in 1977,
that I still have somewhere :) The article mentioned that only its designer
could successfully tame the monster and make it walk (a little bit).

By the way in the very same magazine there was a huge article about SHRDLU and
an interview with Terry Winograd, who's been my hero ever since :)

~~~
erikpukinskis
SHRDLU is my favorite computer science PhD thesis of all time.

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radiorental
It looks like it's supported from above. Otherwise very interesting.

Somewhat related, another amazing Control Design solution from the annals of
history. The B29 remote controlled turret
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nskFayhBcy0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nskFayhBcy0)

~~~
michaelmior
I think it's likely that's just as a precaution in case it's about to topple
over so they avoid damaging the equipment. Under normal operation I suspect it
provides no support.

~~~
a-priori
On the Wikipedia page, it says "the hydraulic fluid and pressure was supplied
through an off-board system" so I assume that those are hydraulic in that
bundle.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_truck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_truck)

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rwl4
That voice in the last segment sounded like Rod Serling to my ears.

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Zigurd
Walking tanks were a Cold War era DoD thing. Something about forests in
Europe. Or maybe the Soviets demo'ed one and now we had to close the walking
tank gap.

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backtoyoujim
Needs Tauntaun version.

