Army Eyes ‘Imperial Walker’ Scout Robots

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a robot that looks like a Star Wars Imperial Walker and can be used for scouting and search-and-rescue ops, according to a recent news release. The robot, Salto, is less than a foot tall and can leap to navigate terrain obstacles. It has the processing ability to tackle elaborate tasks such as negotiating an obstacle course, following a moving target and bouncing in place. Salto is the world’s most vertically agile robot, able to bounce three times its height, officials said. Developers said the robot’s design might help it go places people cannot — helpful for a number of disaster rescue scenarios and scouting missions. The Army Research Lab will use insights from Salto to inform future development for warfighters. Read more at Army.mil.

Read more Army news on Military.com.