the science zone: are mechs efficient

[PhantOS]

i just beat titanfall 2 and im beginning to wonder if giant mechs are even efficient in any way. i feel like the mech's job could be done better by a tank and cost less too. what do yall think

[Ad Bot]

[Tayasaurus]

Bipedal motion is incredibly difficult, and unless it can be perfected perfectly (look at Asimo, forgeter moves around like an old man and it's the best we got), it'd be outright inefficient for military weapons platforms. And even perfected it still can't beat the stability of wheels and treads. Why make something with such a high center of gravity? Toppling over is something we certainly don't want our tanks doing.

My answer would be no. Probably not.

[Nonnel]

petition to replace human legs with tread

[Tayasaurus]

Upsides: We don't ever fall over again

Downsides: bending down to get things becomes even more of a chore than it already is

[cromartini]

Honestly, mechs seem like a waste of money and technology.

[Rally]

this was a pretty interesting problem with mechs in Battlefield 2142. Like sure, they make sense, the legs would make it easier to traverse difficult terrain, but you're also much higher off the ground, making you a bigger target than you need to be, causing the tanks to be superior in pretty much every scenario

there are probably a couple niche scenarios in which a mech would be better

[Nonnel]

Upsides: We don't ever fall over again

Downsides: bending down to get things becomes even more of a chore than it already is

then in addition, arms that extend to twice their normal length

[King Tøny]

Only if they can transform from vehicle to mech.

Or plane to mech.

Otherwise it's a waste.

[Trogtor]

maybe if the mech has the same mobility as a human. like being able to dodge, climb, jump, etc.

[King Tøny]

The only good thing about mechs is that they can carry actual weapons designed for it like shields, swords, big guns.

Mechs could improvise and pick up items in the environment.

Tanks can't really switch up their weapons.

[RedGajin]

mechs would be really efficient for the private sector for things like construction and search and rescue. i think the closest we'll get in the military for a while is different types of exo-skeletons (ironman, advanced warfare)

until we can make something like the jaegers out of pacific rim i don't think we'll really see any

[phflack]

mechs might benefit from using 4 legs instead of 2
that way there's more stability and can be more like a spider and low to the ground, while still being able to go over rough terrain
wouldn't be as fast as wheels/treads though

[e-maxx]

the only good mech

[Refticus]

the only good mech

[Satan From Wreck-It-Ralph]

no