Military Robots in WW2

There is no doubt about it: Robots are destined for use on the battlefield. Researchers are trying to find the best mechatronic device to fight, investigate, cover rough terrain, survive explosions, and a myriad of other possibilities. Who is to stimulate this research?
For the development of military robots and drones, the government funds many public and private companies. Military ground robots must survive not only under fire but also in harsh environmental conditions. In this special webcast on mechatronics, Design News goes behind the scenes to explore how design engineers at several large and small robot design and fabrication companies tackle the design of these complex mechatronics systems, the design and development tools they use, and how they test their designs.
Broadly defined, military robots date back to World War II and the Cold War in the form of the German Goliath tracked mines and the Soviet teletanks. 

1. Goliath tracked mine (Nazi Germany)

The Goliath tracked mine was an unmanned German-engineered demolition vehicle. Employed by the Wehrmacht duringWorld War II, this caterpillar-tracked vehicle was approximately four feet long, two wide, and one tall. It carried 75–100 kg (165–220 lb) of high explosives and was intended to be used for multiple purposes, such as destroying tanks, disrupting dense infantry formations, and demolition of buildings and bridges.






Built in three versions; the first (Goliath E) powered by electic motors (2,500 built) was found to lack the power and range (particularly in cold weather) was subsequently replaced by an improved model (Goliath V) powered by a 702cc twin cylinder motorcycle engine. Finally a larger version was built to carry a 100kg explosive charge. In total around 4,500 of all versions were built seeing much service in both demolition and mine-clearing tasks.
Goliaths were used on all fronts where the Wehrmacht fought, beginning in spring 1942. They were used principally by specialized Panzer andcombat engineer units. 
Goliaths were used most notoriously in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, as Wehrmacht and SS units were deployed to crush fierce Polish resistance by the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa). As the Poles had only a small number of antitank weapons, volunteers were often sent to cut off the command cables of the Goliath before it reached its intended target.^{[citation needed]} A few Goliaths were also seen on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day, though most were rendered inoperative due to artillery blasts severing their command cables.
Although a total of 7,564 Goliaths were produced, the single-use weapon was not considered a success due to the high unit cost, low speed (only just above 6 mph, or 9.5 km/h), poor ground clearance (just 11.4 centimeters), vulnerable command cables and thin armour which failed to protect the remote bomb from any form of antitank weapons. However, the Goliath did help lay the foundation for post-WWII advances in remote-controlled vehicle technologies.

2. Teletanks (Soviet Union)

Teletank is a remotely controlled unmanned tank used in combat to minimize human casualties. It was a series of wireless remotely controlled unmanned robotic tanks produced in the Soviet Union in the 1930s and early 1940s. They saw some use in combat during early World War II, referred to as the Winter War in Russia. A teletank is controlled by radio from a control tank at a distance of 500–1,500 meters, the two constituting a telemechanical group. 


Teletanks were used by the Soviet Red Army in theWinter War and fielded at least two teletank battalions at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. 


Teletanks were equipped with DT machine guns, flamethrowers, smoke canisters, and sometimes a special 200–700 kg time bomb in an armored box, dropped by the tank near the enemy's fortifications and used to destroy bunkers up to four levels below ground. Teletanks were also designed to be capable of using chemical weapons, although they were not used in combat. Each teletank, depending on model was able to recognize sixteen to twenty-four different commands sent via radio on two possible frequencies to avoid interference and jamming. Teletanks were built on the basis of T-18,T-26, T-38, BT-5 and BT-7 tanks.

Writer,

Patrick Ong Tiong Han

October 17th 2010