Since 2003, the U.S. military has struggled to develop a cargo-carrying robotic "mule" meant to accompany ground troops on foot patrols and into combat. The Pentagon has invested millions of dollars in a range of mule designs featuring a wide range of propulsion technologies - everything from traditional wheels and tracks to articulated legs and snake-like segments capable of "slithering." Lockheed Martin's XM1217, part of the Army's $200-billion Future Combat Systems suite of technologies, was the most prominent of the abandoned designs.
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