Fighting robots are something that is admirable. The directors of science fiction films have shot many works with their participation. But mechanical war machines exist not only on the screen - they take part in real military actions and even fight each other in the ring.
Tombstone
“Robot Battles” is not the name of another blockbuster, but real duels between mechanical warriors, which embody one of the most unusual and at the same time humane ways to satisfy humanity's need for spectacular battles. Airing on weekdays at 9 p.m. on the Discovery Channel, the remote-controlled vehicles battle each other fiercely for the title of best fighter in this show, using flamethrowers, circular saws, hammers, drills and other weapons.
One of the veterans of the project is Tombstone from the Hardcore Robotics team. This legendary car, which participated in all seasons of the program, is considered by many to be invulnerable, because the statistics of its victories is 93%. The 110-kilogram construction of heavy, impenetrable metal moves on two wheels, crushing opponents with a fast-moving, sharp horizontal blade. For many mechanical opponents, the duel with Tombstone was the last one: it is not without reason that the name of the robot is translated from English as "tombstone".
Icewave
Another heavyweight fighter in Robot Battle is Icewave, designed by Marc DeVidts. This mechanism is equipped with the largest weapon in the history of the project - a steel rod with a length of about 137 centimeters and weighing more than 21 kilograms, which rotates at a speed of over 250 km / h, successfully coping with both offense and defense. The rod drives an internal combustion engine that runs on high-octane fuel. The robot got its name, which translates as "ice wave", due to the fire extinguishing function with which the engine is equipped.
Warrior
People use combat robots not only for entertainment, but also for military purposes - and this is very promising: firstly, modern technologies that equip military mechanisms make it possible to achieve high efficiency, and secondly, by sending machines to especially dangerous missions, it is possible to significantly reduce losses among the military. However, the market for military robots is still at the beginning of its development, and most of the existing developments are used mainly for reconnaissance or demining. But even among them there are truly combat robots.
One of them is Warrior from iRobot. This 129 kg vehicle is equipped with a Metal Storm machine gun and grenade launcher system with electronic firing control. The rate of fire of the machine gun reaches 16 rounds per second, and the range is 800 meters. Warrior moves at speeds up to 15 km / h, while stairs, sloping surfaces at an angle of 45 ° and obstacles up to 47 centimeters high do not interfere with this mechanism. In addition to firing, the radio-controlled robot can transport cargo, defuse mines, extinguish fires, do reconnaissance, clear roads and take wounded soldiers to safety. In the event of a loss of communication with the operator, the Warrior independently returns to the place where communication can be restored.
SWORDS
SWORDS is one of the most widespread and recognizable combat robots of our time. It was developed by Foster-Miller, which later became one of the divisions of QinetiQ. Its name, which stands for Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems and translates as "special armed surveillance and reconnaissance system", rather accurately reflects the purpose of the mechanism. The SWORDS can be fitted with a wide variety of weapons, including the M16 and Barrett M82 rifles, the M249 SAW light machine gun, the M240 machine gun and the M202A1 FLASH light jet flamethrower. The mechanism is able to climb stairs and move through sand, snow and water up to a depth of about 30 centimeters.
Eagle prime
Last October, Japan hosted the first-ever giant robot duel in human history, featuring the Japanese Kuratas from Suidobashi Heavy Industry and the American Eagle Prime from MegaBots. The American won in two rounds. This manned crawler-mounted robot weighs 12 tonnes and is capable of rising five meters above the ground if it "straightens up". Its V8 LS3 engine boasts 430 horsepower. Eagle Prime is operated by two people at once - a pilot and a gunsmith. The latter manipulates a huge pneumatic claw and a machine gun that shoots large balls (albeit with low accuracy).
It's worth noting that while Eagle Prime itself and its rival Kuratas look very imposing - almost like in numerous science fiction films and anime in the mech genre - this fight showed that using huge machines in real combat was impractical. Firstly, they are very difficult and expensive to build, and secondly, due to their huge size, they are an easy target. Shows involving such devices are also unlikely to become an exciting spectacle: the presence of people inside the cabins makes many types of attacks potentially dangerous and thereby imposes strong restrictions on the actions of participants. A completely different matter - fast, maneuverable mechanisms on remote control panels, which fiercely fight to the last in the project "Battle of robots" on weekdays at 21:00 on Discovery Channel.