And this is why Japan is awesome...
By
Agent White,
Posted on: 2012-06-26 11:27 in Comic and Hero-Villain Culture
What? I was hoping for something else!
EDIT: First image wouldn't load? Dumb website!
Bah! Gundams are puny things. I want my Titan with volcano cannons, vulcan mega-bolters and plasma annihilators!
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The US military would also dearly love a practical, cost-effective legged vehicle, and have been researching the idea since the 1960's. Admittedly, they mostly have in mind off-road transport vehicles rather than sword-wielding giant soldiers.
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Originally Posted by Inazuma
Japanese politicians are "seriously considering" making real, working Gundams for their military. Admittedly, it's just aimed at getting the "otaku vote," but if they actually did it? I'd totally move to Japan just so I can live in a country that has giant battle robots protecting it.
http://kotaku.com/5921304/japanese-p...working-gundam |
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We aren't going to get a decent vehicle until we can finally come up with an energy source better than an IC engine. There's simply too much weight and fuel requirements to make something better than a glorified pack mule.
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Originally Posted by ThugOne
The US military would also dearly love a practical, cost-effective legged vehicle, and have been researching the idea since the 1960's. Admittedly, they mostly have in mind off-road transport vehicles rather than sword-wielding giant soldiers.
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Haven't checked in a while, but has bipedal walk been sorted out? Last I heard that was also very tricky to do.
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Originally Posted by Dark One
We aren't going to get a decent vehicle until we can finally come up with an energy source better than an IC engine. There's simply too much weight and fuel requirements to make something better than a glorified pack mule.
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Originally Posted by Coyote_Seven
What? I was hoping for something else!
EDIT: First image wouldn't load? Dumb website! |
Pfft, I want the 'pilot' of these jets to be t-rex's!
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I dunno about for larger-scale stuff, but there's a few bipedal robots walking around. They aren't very fast and I'm not sure of their capabilities.
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Originally Posted by Tormentoso
Haven't checked in a while, but has bipedal walk been sorted out? Last I heard that was also very tricky to do.
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Oh EI, I am disapointed in you. That's not a jet. That's a Veritech! And Veritechs are so much more than jets: |
Originally Posted by Energizing_Ion
Pfft, I want the 'pilot' of these jets to be t-rex's!
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What like? Maybe Radioisotope thermoelectric generator? Or nuclear/atomic engines?
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Originally Posted by Dark One
We aren't going to get a decent vehicle until we can finally come up with an energy source better than an IC engine. There's simply too much weight and fuel requirements to make something better than a glorified pack mule.
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He's not talking about the vehicle, he's talking about the pilot. |
Originally Posted by Samothrake
Oh EI, I am disapointed in you. That's not a jet. That's a Veritech! And Veritechs are so much more than jets:
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it begins.
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Considering what happened at Fukushima last year, I don't think the Japanese public would be particularly thrilled to see walking nuclear reactors, heavily armored or otherwise.
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Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
What like? Maybe Radioisotope thermoelectric generator? Or nuclear/atomic engines?
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Goodbye, I guess.
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Fission-type generators are just a mess waiting to happen. We can't even really do spacecraft with such generators due to the hand-wringing if it explodes in the atmosphere. Something happens to it, then you've got potential friendly casualties. No foot slogger is gonna want to be in the same county as one, IMO.|
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
What like? Maybe Radioisotope thermoelectric generator? Or nuclear/atomic engines?
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I imagine it would take some variant on a fusion power plant, antimatter, or some other "exotic" form of power. Unless they can massively increase the storage capacity of batteries while at the same time making them smaller, it simply won't work IMO.
also there's this pesky square-cube law; remember Hitler's super-heavy tank project?
With current materials the Mech's legs couldn't bear it's weight.
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While they keep spending money on such things, they always tend to find that when practical matters come around, wheels or tracks simply work better. |
Originally Posted by ThugOne
The US military would also dearly love a practical, cost-effective legged vehicle, and have been researching the idea since the 1960's. Admittedly, they mostly have in mind off-road transport vehicles rather than sword-wielding giant soldiers.
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In reality, any mecha style vehicle is about the dumbest configuration for real combat imaginable. In combat, short and squat survives. A tall bipedal design means the armor thickness is going to be very limited and one leg taken out is a mobility kill. I'd say if walking fighting vehicles were to ever come about they would be either:
A) Individual soldier suits of armor not much bigger than the soldier (for urban combat)
B) Many legged squat vehicles which look like bugs.
However the energy cost of walking vs. tracks/wheels is fairly prohibitive, so I just don't expect it.
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Tachikomas!|
Originally Posted by docbuzzard
B) Many legged squat vehicles which look like bugs.
However the energy cost of walking vs. tracks/wheels is fairly prohibitive, so I just don't expect it. |
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Given the current active US military research projects on combat armor and hydraulic assisted soldier mobility... I wouldn't rule it out for the US either. |
Originally Posted by ThugOne
The US military would also dearly love a practical, cost-effective legged vehicle, and have been researching the idea since the 1960's. Admittedly, they mostly have in mind off-road transport vehicles rather than sword-wielding giant soldiers.
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The Maus might have been fairly effective weapon as a mobile bunker if not for the fact that Tanks were being replaced with air superiority AND the fact that no bridge could bear the weight of it, the same problem that the JagdTiger suffered.|
Originally Posted by Nos482
also there's this pesky square-cube law; remember Hitler's super-heavy tank project?
With current materials the Mech's legs couldn't bear it's weight. |
Also Self Propelled Guns and tank destroyers would have a field day with the thing, slow to move, huge silouhette and unable to hide behind anything meant it could be outmaneuvered by lighter, faster tanks
However Hitler wasn't the only one to make this mistake, Americans proposed the design for the T95 Tank Destroyer.
That thing would had a whooping 305mm of frontal armour, a top speed of 12mph and a 155mm cannon unlike the Maus this thing was actually built (two prototypes) but never used because it proved too cumbersome AND that kind of firepower was rarely needed.
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That and, unless they've repealed the laws of physics (or found a cool way around them), anything that can put enough kinetic force into one of these upright walkers is going to knock it down.|
Originally Posted by Nos482
also there's this pesky square-cube law; remember Hitler's super-heavy tank project?
With current materials the Mech's legs couldn't bear it's weight. |
Yeah, you see ones that somehow "dig in" to compensate for recoil in their own weapons.
The same thing just isn't going to work for incoming ordnance.
Sure, the legs will stay upright. They rest will snap off at the hips.
Tank and tank destroyer crews (not to mention artillery teams) would LOVE something with as big a 3d profile as a mech.
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
So if Japan wants Gundams, then what does the U.S. want?
Yeah, as cool as the idea of RL Mecha is, unless there's some ridiculous tech advance, existing vehicles are just too practical and reliable to be replaced.
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IMO, the most efficient application would be something akin to an armored Hazmat/HEV/EOD suit. Dramatically scaled down from full Gundam size.
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See that might actually work.|
Originally Posted by Coyote_Seven
So if Japan wants Gundams, then what does the U.S. want?
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It has six legs to spread the weight over and to stabilize itself when firing the main gun.
However it doesn't solve the major problem, a main battle tank wouldn't suffer the drawbacks of:
A) having to keep the weight down to allow it to walk and thus lose armour.
B) be slower than a current tank since Treads can achieve a greater speed than running.
C) due to their inherent stability tanks would be able to fit larger guns.
So the only thing a walker can do better than a tank is climb uneven terrain and while we've sort of achieved that with the Big Dog robot, it's still hit and miss.
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Japanese politicians are "seriously considering" making real, working Gundams for their military. Admittedly, it's just aimed at getting the "otaku vote," but if they actually did it? I'd totally move to Japan just so I can live in a country that has giant battle robots protecting it.
http://kotaku.com/5921304/japanese-p...working-gundam