Foster-Miller TALON
tracked military robot
The Foster-Miller TALON is a remotely operated, tracked military robot designed for missions ranging from reconnaissance to combat. It is made by the American robotics company QinetiQ-NA, a subsidiary of QinetiQ.
Overview
Foster-Miller claims the TALON is one of the fastest robots in production, one that can travel through sand, water, and snow, as well as climb stairs. The TALON transmits in color, black and white, infrared, and/or night vision to its operator who may be up to about 3,937 ft (1,200 m) away. It can run off lithium-ion batteries for a maximum of seven days on standby before needing to recharge. It has an 8.5-hour battery life at normal operating speeds, two standard lead batteries providing two hours each, and one optional lithium ion providing an additional 4.57 hours. It can withstand repeated decontamination, allowing it to work for extended periods of time in contaminated areas. It was used at Ground Zero after the September 11 attacks, working for 45 days under contaminated conditions without electronic failure. This led to the further development of the HAZMAT TALON.
It weighs less than 100 pounds (45 kg), or 60 pounds (27 kg) for the reconnaissance version. Its cargo bay can accommodate a variety of sensor payloads. The robot is controlled through a two-way radio or fiber-optic link from a portable or wearable Operator Control Unit (OCU) that provides continuous data and video feedback for precise vehicle positioning.
“Foster-Miller TALON” enters the record as tracked military robot. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Foster-Miller, TALON and tracked can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “Foster-Miller TALON” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.