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[Johnfalcon99977]

I don't really have words for this.

[rutsber]

That is actually pretty cool in my opinion. It's not as though it hasn't been considered. I think the U.S. is working on a suit currently, but last I heard it was too heavy and needed a cable for power. If they make a working model, they would probably be safe until others caught up, in terms of infantry.

[Seriyu]

It's important to note, this is not going to be a five story tall three hundred ton behemoth, it's basically gonna be a powered exoskeleton. So it's not so much giant robot as robot suit.

And of course at the end of the day, a lot of major technological advances (Including space travel) were created specifically because people just said "fuck it" and tried to do stuff they thought was impossible, so let's not snort and laugh just yet.

[Strife26]

The day powered, bipedal armor becomes effective, I shall eat a tanker bar.

[rutsber]

The day powered, bipedal armor becomes effective, I shall eat a tanker bar.

People said similar things about flying and traveling to the moon. Even going faster than certain speeds was considered impossible depending on the time period.

[Knight of Fools]

Once we get some serious, small-time power generators and high-speed, flexible, durable robotics, then we'll talk. Until then, whatever a walker can do a tank can do better. Armor, firepower, speed, maneuverability, crushing things, ramming into things, you name it. The only advantage I see walkers having over tanks is moving through a destroyed city, and generally you want to avoid getting to that point. And infantry are cheaper and could do that better, too.

[Flying Dice]

That is actually pretty cool in my opinion. It's not as though it hasn't been considered. I think the U.S. is working on a suit currently, but last I heard it was too heavy and needed a cable for power. If they make a working model, they would probably be safe until others caught up, in terms of infantry.

Last I heard, the US suit was closer to true power armor, and they had a functional model. It was still just an unarmored frame and needed a power cable, but all it takes is a reliable power source and at the very least it'd be a useful tool for heavy lifting and loading/unloading. Only a few steps from that to primitive SPEHSS MAHREENS.

The Japanese, on the other hand, have apparently decided to screw their budget because mecha. Which I can somewhat get behind. It's certainly a more interesting way of bankrupting one's government, anyhow.

[Duke 2.0]

 They have already worked on stuff like this in the private sector for a while. Sorta incredibly cheesy, but it's a commercial product not a military demonstration. Would not be too much of a stretch to adapt it to more durable materials. Probably won't meet military needs without the power generation thing the US currently struggles with.

[alway]

Here's the problem with mechsuits: For the cost involved, you are better off investing in a fully-mechanical system operated by remote control with AI assistance or near complete AI control. It minimizes the risk to humans, as these systems are far from invincible, while simultaneously cutting costs as it does not have to fit a person inside or protect said person.

[FearfulJesuit]

Mere Giant Robots are boring. I want an Evangelion. One with my mom inside that goes crazy.

[rutsber]

As for the power problem, we do have miniature generators. They just use glucose, so they would probably be impractical for something of this scale.

[alway]

Uh, yeah... That's useful for microtech, and not much else.

It's generally the same issue electric cars have: battery technology is pretty basic at this point, making batteries both very heavy and very low-capacity.

[FuzzyZergling]

[...] Until then, whatever a walker can do a tank can do better. [...]

Ladders?

[Duke 2.0]

Here's the problem with mechsuits: For the cost involved, you are better off investing in a fully-mechanical system operated by remote control with AI assistance or near complete AI control. It minimizes the risk to humans, as these systems are far from invincible, while simultaneously cutting costs as it does not have to fit a person inside or protect said person.

What do you mean by fully mechanical system? A bipedal robot? I would think the costs for that would be far more than exoskeletons.

The purpose seems more for adding strength to ground troops. Troops that you cannot replace just because you have tanks and planes. We will always need a human involved right in the action simply because there are no robots for the foreseeable future that have the versatility of a human.

[Kilroy the Grand]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

If we don't make dreadnaughts I will be disappointed.