GRAND PRAIRIE — You remember the All Terrain Armored Transport from the "Star Wars" films — those 50-foot tall, four-legged robots.
It was science fiction in 1980; not so much now.
The Big Dog is an experimental mechanical "animal," designed to carry gear for soldiers in combat.
The Little Dog is a smaller observation device funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Like the Big Dog, it's an experimental robot with a potential military application.
The SMSS — Squad Mission Support System — is no experiment. Up and running at Lockheed Missles and Space in Grand Prairie, it's ready to be drafted.
With a range-finding head to "see" and on-board GPS to tell it where it is, the SMSS can carry more than a half-ton of supplies for soldiers in the field. It has, in essence, its own guidance system.
"You can send it to a point on the map and it will find its way there," said Lockheed spokesman Don Nimblett. "You can give it specific waypoints to follow, and it will follow that very closely."
SMSS can also be programmed to respond to verbal commands, and an operator can use the six-wheel vehcile's optical system to drive it by remote control where he can't go.
"You can send it off to the forest somewhere," Nimblett said. "You can't physically see it, but you can still drive it."
Or SMSS can be commanded to follow somebody — and it will use its ability to recognize any shape or form.
The Army and Marines need a hand in the field because of all the equipment they carry. Combat troops must haul as much as 100 lbs. of ammunition, food and water per person.
And then there are batteries. A squad of 13 men may go through as many as 56 batteries a day in combat. The SMSS can carry recharging gear.
Its designers say it knows its job, and when to stay out of the way. It's programmed to stay on mission, yet steer around obstacles.
Early next year, the SMSS will face its toughest mission yet — duty in Afghanistan.
If it proves itself in combat, it will be ready for commercial competition against robots from other companies that also want the Army's business.
E-mail bharris@wfaa.com
