Walking Truck

The Walking Truck themselves (" trucks "), even Cybernetic Walking Machine is a four-legged pilotierter walking robot prototype of General Electric from 1970., The Walking Truck was in 1966 commissioned by the U.S. Army at General Electric in order, by Ralph S. Mosher developed and delivered to the U.S. Army in August 1970. The Army wanted a truck vehicle for the infantry to carry heavy loads over extremely difficult terrain.

The Walking Truck could be steered with his four legs by means of hydraulic servos because no board computers were installed. With the hands of the driver steered the front, with the pedals the rear pair of legs. He was easy to control, a driver could learn in two hours, all movements, such as forward and lateral motion, rotation and diagonal balancing on each front and rear leg. In all indoor tests in workshops the Walking Truck was secured by the rope, so he does not fall over in testing over obstacles. In tests in outdoor installations he came out without a crane and balanced over obstacles.

The Walking Truck weighs 1500 kg. The truck was transporting 250 kg charge through extremely difficult terrain, which was not possible for other transport vehicles. It had to draw a top speed of five miles an hour and the tensile force to a stuck in the mud jeep out.

The U.S. Army stopped the project because she used transport helicopters to transport heavy loads over difficult terrain. The U.S. patent for the Walking Truck carries the number 5346027th

The Walking Truck can be seen at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum in Fort Eustis today.