theoretical 'Mech'?

Question

eh.. just watching a bit of 'terminator' lately - kinda got me to thinking about our level of technology... dont quite understand where technology stands.. or what keeps it in check. a kid can build a little battle bot - why.. or why dont forces use mechs? does someone somewhere? or are they just waiting around for nanotech so they can build on a much more impressive level?
kinda just thinking to myself - wouldn't mind someone else's thoughts.

automation however is far different, and far more advanced than you guys realize. i dont think big 'gundam' type mechs would every make sense, but smaller recon types probably would. somethin equipped with some black widows/whatnot.. and a simple armor piercing ammo that can go around corners/whatnot... combined with an intricate information sharing/cutting process (like the pylons used in iraq).. a simple intel chip (created in the image of the temple of horus i might add)....
anyway :P tanks/planes they have now are more than a match for most theoreticals - and nukes beat the rest. `yawns'

Answer 1

A look at gadgetopia and other tech websites will demonstrate that the best robots out right now are barely able to move as well as a person of average abilities. The beast of burden robot is still less useful thatn a mule or horse, the C3PO type robots are burdened by enormous power requirements and processing computors. They aren't much good with cable attached to the fixed desktop and wall socket.

Answer 2

The kind of mechs that you see in Gundam or in MechWarrior would be very hard to build, and they wouldn't be much more effective than a regular tank or jet. Mechs are really heavy since they're made of solid metal. Imagine trying to design a joint that can withstand a 100 ton object pushing off the ground to run. Nothing really keeps technology 'in check'- anything worth inventing will be invented eventually. But we will have something similar to mechs in the future/near future. We already have unmanned drones, and within the next ten years, we will have machine-piloted unmanned drones. There will be robots used on the ground, too. The basic technology is there, and the only thing that needs to happen is for AI to improve. If you have the Discovery Channel, check out Futureweapons. It's pretty interesting. Also, there is an episode of Modern Marvel's (on the History Channel) called 'Future Tech', that touches on other points about where our technology is headed.

Answer 3

Have you seen the Honda robot?
It is slow, very slow!
It is cheaper and easier to pump drugs into humans, and use them as battle bots!