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Crab Walker in Firing Mode The "Crab Walker" is digging in to
fire at the enemies. The rear mounted stabilizing legs, as well
as the forward-middle leg mount, are deployed to brace the robot
against the 30mm autocannon's (of the same type found on the M2 Bradley
IFV) recoil. cjdby.net, |
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Packed up Crab Walker The Crab Walker is shown here with its rear
and forward leg mounts retracted to enable movement over mountainous
terrain with its main eight legs, as it keeps up with infantry.
cjdby.net, via Hongjian at China Defense Forum |
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30mm Ammo soldier load 30mm ammunition for the ZDB-86's
autocannon in Shenyang. Each 30mm round weighs slightly under one pound;
the Crab Walker is also projected to be armed with a 30mm autocannon to
provide heavy fire power for infantry in mountains and cities. Tang Changjun, PLA Daily |
Robotics designers in the US have long gotten their inspiration from
both science fiction and biology, and engineers are no
different, most especially those working on walking combat robots. Dai
Jinsong and other engineers of the School of Mechanical
Engineering, Nanjing University of Technology, have published three
articles in weapons design journals as part of a long term study
into the design of a legged, autocannon carrying robot. The extent of
the study indicates a serious effort. The first article discussed
modeling gun accuracy and building an eight-legged demonstrator and the
second articles involved application of computer aided design (CAD)
software to improve the testing process. Most importantly, the third
paper analyzed the systems integration of components like the nine
channel signal driver module, RS-845 communications module and STM-32
syncrhonization set, which were required to build a unique unified
control system for its eight limbs.
The "crab walker" design is roughly 6 meters long, and two
meters wide, including its legs. It has eight main legs, four on each
side of the body, and has two rear mounted legs to brace itself for
stabilization during firing; there is also another stabilization leg
installed in the front). The size of the Crab Walker would make it
capable of being airlifted by heavy helicopters like the Mi-26 and its
prospective replacement, the Sino-Russian Mi-46. During transport, the
Crab Walker's three stabilizing legs would be retracted to allow faster
movement.
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Star Wars and Walking Robots This screenshot from the 2002 Star
Wars: Attack of the Clones film, shows Separatist OG-9 Homing Droids
firing lasers. The Chinese "Crab Walker" has similar looking legs
(though twice as many as its fictional cousin) but so far, the PLA does
not appear to be interested in putting lasers on robots.
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, via Wookiepedia
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In the present design concept, the Crab Walker's main weapon is a 30mm
autocannon, which is also found on Chinese ZBD-86, ZDB-03 and ZBL-09
infantry fighting vehicles. Presumably the 30mm autocannon could be
swapped for other remote weapons station, like anti-tank guided missiles
or a mortar. Also, there are bulges located in front and behind the
30mm autocannon, which are likely to house communications and sensor
equipment.
The available images of the Crab Walker design suggests that the
horizontal "knee” joints of its main legs are not fully articulated, in
contrast to the famous American “Big Dog”
legged robot, which would limit its speed in extremely difficult
terrain. This suggests that the Crab Walker is intended to act as a
close fire support platform for infantry in difficult urban or
mountainous terrain, that would be inaccessible to heavier wheeled and
tracked vehicles. Given the state of current global robotics, it is
likely that the Crab Walker would at least initially be controlled by a
human operator instead of deciding where and at whom to aim its big guns
on its own.
The Crab Walker is currently a drawing board design, meaning it could be
superseded by different unmanned vehicles designs, whether legged or
wheeled. In either case, it shows how the future of land warfare,
including for Chinese forces, will likely have some kind of robotic
element.
'Crab Walker' Robots The Future Of Chinese Land Wars? | Popular Science.