LEAVENWORTH, KAN -
He looks like something out of the animated movie Wall-E but technology like this is closer to being used in the real world than you think.
The U.S. Army showed off some of it's latest tools at Fort Leavenworth on Wednesday as part of a modernization effort designed to give a smaller, more flexible fighting force an advantage on the battlefield.
'Sug-Vee' is a robot made by the same company that makes the Roomba Vacuum Cleaner for consumers but it has a much more important mission than keeping your house clean. It's designed to help keep soldiers alive and safe.
"That's one of the main focuses of the robotics program is to be able to use robots in places where you don't want to actually send a person, where there could be a suspected trip wire, IED, BBID, anything that could be detrimental to human life. You can use the robot first," said Sergeant Stephan Faddis.
This is just one tool that's part of the Army's Modernization Program.
As the Army becomes a leaner and more nimble fighting force, technology is being used to gather information that fewer soldiers on the battlefield need to make good decisions.
There's technology that fly's and hovers and transmits images of targets to soldiers on the ground. All the information is shared over a network and sensors are integrated with missile systems to take out threats identified by the robotic devices.
"The smartest most capable piece of equipment we have on the battlefield is the soldier. You can't replace the soldier. These are complex tools that help the infantry do its job," said Major Bill Venable.
The Army said it has yet to determine what it will cost to provide these new tools to soldiers at the Brigade Combat Team level. The Army plans to have technology like this available for soldiers to use on the battlefield within two years.
The U.S. Army showed off some of it's latest tools at Fort Leavenworth on Wednesday as part of a modernization effort designed to give a smaller, more flexible fighting force an advantage on the battlefield.
'Sug-Vee' is a robot made by the same company that makes the Roomba Vacuum Cleaner for consumers but it has a much more important mission than keeping your house clean. It's designed to help keep soldiers alive and safe.
"That's one of the main focuses of the robotics program is to be able to use robots in places where you don't want to actually send a person, where there could be a suspected trip wire, IED, BBID, anything that could be detrimental to human life. You can use the robot first," said Sergeant Stephan Faddis.
This is just one tool that's part of the Army's Modernization Program.
As the Army becomes a leaner and more nimble fighting force, technology is being used to gather information that fewer soldiers on the battlefield need to make good decisions.
There's technology that fly's and hovers and transmits images of targets to soldiers on the ground. All the information is shared over a network and sensors are integrated with missile systems to take out threats identified by the robotic devices.
"The smartest most capable piece of equipment we have on the battlefield is the soldier. You can't replace the soldier. These are complex tools that help the infantry do its job," said Major Bill Venable.
The Army said it has yet to determine what it will cost to provide these new tools to soldiers at the Brigade Combat Team level. The Army plans to have technology like this available for soldiers to use on the battlefield within two years.
