Imagine a soldier who can fire a machine gun with deadly accuracy at 300 yards, doesn't complain about heat or cold and can go forever without food or water.
Meet the "Robo-Soldier."
The idea for the Robo-Soldier (search) started in Afghanistan, where U.S. troops wanted help clearing the entrances of caves.
"The concept ... here at Picatinny is don't reinvent the wheel, don't keep engineering. Take what's already proven, apply it to this robot that's already proven. We need it now," said Bob Quinn of Foster-Miller Inc. (search), the Boston-based company that designed the robot.
Design teams at New Jersey's Picatinny Arsenal (search) came up with the idea of mounting grenade and rocket launchers on the existing Talon robot (search), which evolved into a machine gun setup. The operator can be at the controls up to 1,000 yards away — pulling the trigger while staying well out of harm's way.
"We were sitting there firing single rounds and smacking bull's-eyes after zeroing the scopes. We were completely amazed," said Staff Sergeant Santiago Tordillos, who helped design and test the robot. The robot has already been in Iraq clearing roadside bombs, and the team at Picatinny is ready to ship out the weapons-mounted model as soon as the call comes.
"If a decision came down from a commander in the field to the United States Army that said they want this capability, it could be in the hands of the soldiers in approximately 60 days," said Anthony Sebasto of Picatinny.
But there is one thing the Robo-Soldier can't do: put a human face on war. That will always be the job of the men and women in uniform.
Click in the video box above for a complete report by FOX News' Todd Connor.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox