Can an APU be built with materials from a junkyard and used as a space cannon?

[Livingod]

In the Matrix trilogy, there are big robots called APUs, or Armored Personnel Units, Might anyone have any idea on how to make it from cheap matereals? (some parts preferably from a junkyard)

 

[scott1]

Do you mean a repilca or a real APU.If you want to build APU your going have spend millons of dollars and you need secert milltary technology form Area 51.

 

[franznietzsche]

You can build a replica of anything with enough fiberglass and epoxy. Though you'll smell peculiar for a few weeks afterwards most likely.

 

[Pengwuino]

Those APU's are absolutely useless. The whole front is exposed! And there is horrible mobility to consider...

 

[Livingod]

As long as it moves like an APU, it's fine with me, doesn't need weapons, doesn't need to be that big, just a way to "get around".

 

[Livingod]

And in the Revolutions, they made the front exposed in order for viewers to see the characters more clearly.

 

[franznietzsche]

As long as it moves like an APU, it's fine with me, doesn't need weapons, doesn't need to be that big, just a way to "get around".

In that case yeah, you're going to a pretty big budget, millions of dollars.


For that matter, you do realize that mechs in general are structurally unsound, right?

 

[Cyrus]

would something like this suffice!

https://www.physicsforums.com/attachments/5786

 

[Livingod]

It doesn't need to have accesories, nothing extra, just a plain skeleton with a torso, seat, legs, arms, and means to control the thing.

 

[The_Professional]

Those APU's are absolutely useless. The whole front is exposed! And there is horrible mobility to consider...

Are you talking about the APU's in the Matrix? they are slow, cumbersome antiquated looking man-chines leaving the pilot exposed and vulnerable.
Civilian APU's are more impressive but with the metal they're carrying it must feel like driving a tank in one of those. I still wouldn't mind having one...
http://www.alpineco.com/armored/new_armored_suvs/suburban/armored_suburban_17.htm

ARMOR SPECIFICATIONS:
All original glass is removed and replaced with NIJ tested Multi-layered ballistic glass
All opaque material surrounding the passenger area are replaced with hardened ballistic steel
Additional areas of armoring are fuel tank (Explosafe tank is used), battery and computer module
Protection against high power rifles such as 7.62x39, 5.56x45, 7.62x51 and M80 ball
Roof (60 angle) and floor (Anti-Mine Protection including DM51 granade/fragmentation)
A complete set of five (5) high grade Run Flats installed
Driver and passenger side power windows
Additional protection for the floor and the radiator
Patented designed armoring for firewall and wheel wells
Rear Partition Ballistic Glass

 

[franznietzsche]

It doesn't need to have accesories, nothing extra, just a plain skeleton with a torso, seat, legs, arms, and means to control the thing.

Again, be prepared to shell out millions of dollars in research and development.

 

[DaveC426913]

Start with this:
http://www.tanomi.com/shop/images_item/poweriser_01.jpg

 

[Livingod]

I don't want it to be exactly like the APUs in the Matrix, just the same principle: a large man-like robot that can move around with a person inside. I don't care whether or not the pilot was exposed in the Revolutions. I don't care about weapons. I just want it to move with its feet and raise its arms, that's all. Nothing fancy, doesn't need to have cool designs or tatoos like in the movie. Doesn't need to be a war machine

 

[Livingod]

you need secert milltary technology form Area 51.

Secret military technology? I was thinking more like hydraulics.

 

[franznietzsche]

I don't want it to be exactly like the APUs in the Matrix, just the same principle: a large man-like robot that can move around with a person inside. I don't care whether or not the pilot was exposed in the Revolutions. I don't care about weapons. I just want it to move with its feet and raise its arms, that's all. Nothing fancy, doesn't need to have cool designs or tatoos like in the movie. Doesn't need to be a war machine

Again, be prepared to spend millions of dollars.

And again, they are not structurally viable.

 

[Pengwuino]

I don't want it to be exactly like the APUs in the Matrix, just the same principle: a large man-like robot that can move around with a person inside. I don't care whether or not the pilot was exposed in the Revolutions. I don't care about weapons. I just want it to move with its feet and raise its arms, that's all. Nothing fancy, doesn't need to have cool designs or tatoos like in the movie. Doesn't need to be a war machine

As far as robotics goes, those are contradictory statements. It is VERY hard to keep something stable while moving on 2 legs. Humans alone have an incredibly complex system of biological functions that for hte most part, just keep us standing up.

 

[franznietzsche]

As far as robotics goes, those are contradictory statements. It is VERY hard to keep something stable while moving on 2 legs. Humans alone have an incredibly complex system of biological functions that for hte most part, just keep us standing up.

Exactly. As I said, mechs are NOT structurally viable.

 

[-Job-]

There are some robots that can actually dance on two legs. They move very smoothly and quickly like a person. It's the creepiest thing. With the necessary sensors you'll be able to program a robot to walk on two legs without falling down. One of the ways to achieve this is to use neural networks, a data structure modeled after biological neuron networks, that allows for learning.
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2003/1218/sony_06.wmv"

 

[franznietzsche]

There are some robots that can actually dance on two legs. They move very smoothly and quickly like a person. It's the creepiest thing. With the necessary sensors you'll be able to program a robot to walk on two legs without falling down. One of the ways to achieve this is to use neural networks, a data structure modeled after biological neuron networks, that allows for learning.
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2003/1218/sony_06.wmv"

look at the weight distribution though. Mech's are not viable because of the amount of weight above their legs. Its obvious from the existence of humans that you can have bipedal movement in robots, but there are limits. You can't have a 100 ton mech with 90 tons of it above the legs. The legs couldn't hold it up.

 

[-Job-]

Well, of course you'll have to design it with efficiency in mind.

 

[Livingod]

What about something very lightweigh? (in terms of a robot) The feet could have a little extra weight, but it would not be, like, 90 tonnes. And what I mean by nothing fancy is nothing that's not needed. Although anything useful that does not add a lot of weight to the mech would help.

 

[Alkatran]

ARMOR SPECIFICATIONS:
All original glass is removed and replaced with NIJ tested Multi-layered ballistic glass
All opaque material surrounding the passenger area are replaced with hardened ballistic steel
Additional areas of armoring are fuel tank (Explosafe tank is used), battery and computer module
Protection against high power rifles such as 7.62x39, 5.56x45, 7.62x51 and M80 ball
Roof (60 angle) and floor (Anti-Mine Protection including DM51 granade/fragmentation)
A complete set of five (5) high grade Run Flats installed
Driver and passenger side power windows
Additional protection for the floor and the radiator
Patented designed armoring for firewall and wheel wells
Rear Partition Ballistic Glass

Ahahaha I just started laughing when I read this list and noticed "Driver and passenger side power windows" was included with all the other "anti-ballistics" stuff. Hilarious.

 

[gen ed 333]

if you aren't going for a matrix apu thingy, then instead of 2 legs, how about 4? much more stability (and a lot cooler)

 

[gen ed 333]

besides, who needs two legs when you've got this http://www.mondospider.com/images/spider_300.jpg

 

[CRGreathouse]

For a unit as small as the Matrix APUs, I don't think there's anything inherently unsound about the structural design (unlike a 75-ton BattleMech). The hydraulics of the legs and arms are buildable without too much trouble, I think, and the metal wouldn't be all that expensive. The real hitch is making it walk on two legs. Without needing it to move responsively, I could imagine this as a $4000 garage project (assuming you build it yourself) -- but with it, you'd need a *lot* more. (I can't get a good order of magnitude here -- $250,000? $10 million?)

For comparison, here's something like the state of the art in the 'easy' 4+ legged form:
http://www.bostondynamics.com/content/sec.php?section=robotics

Edit: I see that BD spent over $10 million developing BigDog, which seems easier than an APU that can walk at a reasonable 2-legged gait.

Edit 2: I see that this claimed as a $300,000 robot, so if you're willing to give up speed you could get something similar:

Its design doesn't require stability in the same way, which makes it much simpler (though obviously slower as well).

 

[michinobu]

Those APU's are absolutely useless. The whole front is exposed! And there is horrible mobility to consider...

They looked more like utility robots to me. As a military weapon, they would be pretty useless. I'd be more comfortable fighting on foot. But, it would be cool if someone built one of those, with full mobility and everything, though I doubt you could do it on the cheap.
In any case, I wish the fighting scene they had was more like they had on the Animatrix short where the squid-bots were tearing limbs off of people. It's funny how people tend to view squid creatures like that, like that Cthulu myth. It kind of reminds me of how on the Animal Planet, when they had this special where they showed future animals, that intelligent squids would rule the Earth in a few million years from now.
I kind of wonder if the squid menace we have on our fiction is somehow connected to a subconscious fear of the future. Probably not, but it's something to think about.

 

[michinobu]

But, you know, someone will build one day build a mech for some use. As long as the stories continue to inspire scientists and engineers, someone will find a way. Like, how Jules Verne inspired the moon landing or even a space cannon which shot satellites into space (also from the same book). However, the space cannon project lost continued funding from the US gov.'t, in spite of its success, because it proved impractical, but someone showed that you really can use a cannon to shoot **** into space. I think that, one of these days, someone's going to convince some government organization to spend that country's tax-dollars on such a project.

 

[CRGreathouse]

A space cannon doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Earth's escape velocity is 11,186 m/s, and practically the cannon would need to exert a higher speed because of (considerable!) air resistance.

The Space Shuttle's acceleration is around 30 m/s^2. A cannon imparting the same continuous acceleration would need to be a quarter-mile long! With air resistance and the fact that a cannon will impart unequal acceleration over its length, the initial acceleration must be very high indeed! Surely enough to kill any living passengers.