The National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) is coming up with some robot designs that are quite amazing! Dragon Runner is a rugged robot that is used for reconnaissance among other uses. Have a look at the video, it is quite impressive.

“The four-wheeled device is small and light enough to be carried in a soldier’s backpack and rugged enough to be tossed over fences and up or down stairwells. Its low weight and compact size produce little to no impact on the warfighter’s pace, fighting ability and load-carrying needs (food, water, ammo). These attributes are the key differentiators to other robot systems which are heavier, bulkier, slower, and take longer to deploy.”

On a larger scale the Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle (UGCV) by NREC is an autonomous vehicle that can survive almost anything. For example if it flips over, it reconfigures itself to operate upside down and moves on. There is an interesting video that demonstrates its capability.

“Spinner takes maximal advantage of the uncrewed UGCV aspect through its inverting design as well as the unique hull configuration that accommodates its large continuous payload bay, which rotates to position payloads upright or downward. In addition to rollover crash survivability, the hull, suspension and wheels have been designed for extreme frontal impacts from striking a tree, rock or unseen ditch at speed. Despite its large size, Spinner is very stealthy due to its low profile and quiet hybrid operation.”