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GE Walking Truck - Cybernetic Anthropomorphous Machine (CAM) 1969.

Reuben Hoggett · 248.5K views · 2010-01-30 · 2:03

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Overview

Short footage of the General Electric Cybernetic Anthropomorphous Machine, or Walking Truck, a 1960s quadruped vehicle operated by a human driver using hydraulic limbs. The uploader notes it predates Big Dog by decades.

On Hacker News

HN cites it in robotics threads as proof that legged machines were mechanically feasible in the 1960s, long before Boston Dynamics.

Discussed on HN; no positive recommendation is recorded in this export · HN mentions 2013–2019

Topics

RoboticsHistory of computingMechanical & precision engineering
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walking truckge camralph mosherquadrupedboston dynamics

What people said

alex_young · 2019-09 · Reference

Video: [VIDEO] The thing looks a little top heavy to me. I wonder if there are airbags :) Also - external hydraulics seems like quite a limitation.

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krapp · 2019-09 · Reference

Progress takes time, and ambulatory motion is a finicky, delicate nightmare that only seems simple in humans and animals thanks to millions of years of evolution. CAM was created in the 1960s[0], but BigDog[1] and other recent Boston Dynamics quadrupeds that aren't designed for human passengers are much faster[2], but still awkward. Also remember these are expensive prototypes designed to test things other than speed. Making them faster only guarantees that they break themselves harder when they run into a wall or trip over a cliff or something. [0] [VIDEO] [1] [LINK] [2] [LINK] >I think Neal Stephenson described a skateboard with hundreds of tiny feet, moving faster than wheels on any surface. I want to see that. I am neither Neal Stephenson nor a physicist but I'm pretty sure the friction caused by the increased surface contact of "hundreds of tiny feet" versus wheels would still make the wheels faster and more efficient. Geckos and things can stick to vertical surfaces and move quickly because they're lightweight. Anything capable of sticking to an arbitrary surface and supporting human weight is going to be slow. And if moving downhill, wheels don't really need to do work - gravity does the work. Something with "hundreds of tiny feet" either has to slide or "walk."

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Animats · 2017-07 · Reference

It's been tried a few times. Early versions were really clunky. Later versions were usually art projects. * General Electric Walking Truck (1969) [1] * Adaptive Suspension Vehicle (1984) [2] * Korean giant mecha (2016) [3] The BPG Motors Uno transforming motorcycle seemed a good idea, but they gave up on it.[4] [1] [VIDEO] [2] [LINK] [3] [LINK] [4] [LINK]

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Sources

Video by Reuben Hoggett, played through YouTube.

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