Range ‘Rover’
Targets designed to offer more realistic training Robots to rove Marine firing rangesBy James K. Sanborn - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 18, 2010 11:51:42 EDT
The Marine Corps will begin testing a humanoid target in July that can zip through ranges and mimic the behavior of insurgents, foreign fighters and civilians in a combat zone.
Dubbed “Rover” by its maker — Australian-based Marathon Robotics — the autonomous targets can run in packs, providing Marines with real-world scenarios that require them to track and engage multiple “fighters.”
It could be some time before Marines have them in their sights, but foreign militaries have already deemed the device useful.
The Rover’s greatest strength as a training tool comes from its random, but “intelligent” behavior, according to its makers. Using sensors, it can change direction to avoid objects and scatters for cover when fired at.
“This provides mobile targets that move in realistic ways,” said Alex Brooks, CEO of Marathon Robotics. “It forces people to concentrate in ways that you don’t have to with static targets.”
unhappycamper comment: For some reason this reminds me of gladiator training. Kill or be killed. :puke: