With a bare-bones sticker price of $1.3 million, Suidobashi Heavy Industry will build you a high-tech, robotic suit that might even make Tony Stark a little nervous.
Suidobashi’s Kuratas robot stands 13-feet tall and weighs about 6 tons. It comes standard with a leather seat and a “next-generation” V-Sido robot operating system, which allows the pilot to move the this gigantic bot’s arms and drive it around at a speed of six miles per hour. Weapon systems such a pair of BB-firing mini guns cost extra (Click below to see the super suhweet video).
The diesel-powered Kuratas can also be controlled remotely through a 3G network.
The Japanese company’s website displays videos and sophisticated-looking graphics of the Kuratas robot but unfortunately lacks a lot of detailed info.
Either way, we here at Defense Tech think it would make a nice addition to the office.
{ 106 comments… read them below or add one }
Want.
ill have two!
Really Want.
Can't afford!!
um, a little need to overcompensate for … inadequacy somewhere else?
Its a mech, not a Iron man suit.
Strangely people tend to group the two together.
*An
Mister I’m going to a smarty pants.
agreed lol
to the not an iron man comment
Meh
Metal Gear?
Metal….Gear?
METAL GEAR!!!!??
If it doesn't transform into an airplane or possibly a dinosaur, I don't want it.
Fyi the original transformer came from japan from a company called takara, untill hasbro bought the toyline off, the first animated transfromer was written in america and animinated in japan some of these earliest animation of transformer itself is in anime and that why if u come to japan u might see some new character of transformer that you wont see here in america, alot of the transformer character like hotshot is model directlyy from japanese transformable mech such as diaclone or gobot… alot of robotics and transnformable mech and mechs originated from japan , transformer has been swicthing back and forth from japan and america to produce it, recent transformer film from micheal bay leads many ignorant people to think that it is from the US, im sure the writter is awre of gundam but he CHOOSE to call it ironman just so their is a hint of trademark with US in it. but this resemble many japanese mech and gundam rather then anything..might as well called battle tech and mech warrior an american gundam
Looks like the bad robot from Robocop…..
Do you think they could bring it down to $1.1 if i got the fabric interior instead of the leather?
My REAL question is how upgradeable are those BB firing mini guns?
Considering the options you can put on it, and of course none are actual working weapons… but a prop is still a weight, and the weight capacity of the chassis and limb is all we care, at least several kilos if they are metal constructed, then it should be viable to put a standard assault rifle at least and rig one to it's limb.
How well exactly you can aim that though is a separate matter, and how well can one control it to fire accounting for the recoil is another matter.
Wow, geeks of the world unite! Hey nerds activate your stun guns!
Can we get paintballs? This could actually be a lot of fun… Or tazers, and give them to suburban PD..
Still, with BBs, it's a good way to get rid of some hoodlums in town.
I think someone in the US needs to build an "upgrade kit" for this.
to my knowledge, japan was a very strict gun-control law, so anything able to use live ammo is out of the question, so BB rounds are the best thing you get from original "factory" units
How about a couple of GE miniguns in the arms?
HELLZ YEAH!!
BB firing Mini guns Finally i will dominate airsoft matches HaHa!!!
Feh, kneecap it with my locust and riverdance on it's rusting corpse.
finally!!! A BattleTech ref.
Considering the Rifleman and the Marauder debuted as Macross mecha designs…
Give it some SRMs in the face
Still waiting for the Madcat with PPC or even a Veritech. I doubt we are getting an Optimus Prime anytime soon. I can see Metroplex arriving first though.
This is the next step I can see on the battlefield though.
Hell no.
This thing would be ripped apart in seconds on the modern battlefield. It has no armor and it only goes 6mph. Wait till a rock gets stuck in a join or it falls over.
The armored suits like they are working on now are far better.
Thats the problem with mecha. They are at best support. If you can build 300 sets of power armor which can take on this thing one on one what is the point?
Some mecha fans have this grand delusion that you can armor it like a tank one day and defying known physics with advanced tech, since it's mechanically powered.
It never made sense of course since that DEFECTIVE LOGIC they used for it is nonsensical given advanced tech means advanced gunnery and even more powerful weapons to contend with which returns the status back to where it starts with the mech never being viable to begin with since it had no basic logic to it's design.
Evolution gave us the human body, which we use pretty dang effectively. Hell, we have infantry that run around, climb things, and plain old get sh** done. Apply this to mecha. With advances in servos, synthetic muscles, and power sources mecha might actually be more viable than the limited perspective we have now. Imagine the firepower of an advanced tank that can scale mountains… with human(or superhuman)-like flexibility, speed, and dexterity.
Evolution didn't gave us the human body for the purpose of FLINGING projectile at each other however and withstand them.
ie: the human body was never optimized for combat by evolution, in fact it's inherently BAD AT IT.
speed? weight capacity? resistance to damage? bipedal limb design is inherently VERY BAD at all of them.
But this is fine for human since the flexibility we have is worth the tradeoff in design for other purpose than combat.
Human soldier on the other hand is still used and is VITAL if not irreplaceable because combat between human means we need to be able to access areas where human dwell and reside which means it's often useful to be able to manipulate human intended objects.
But the moment you make war machines EXCEEDING human size in a humanoid or similar form, you lose ALL the qualities that made human soldier irreplaceable leaving you with just all the NEGATIVE parts of human bipedal structure for combat.
THAT'S ILLOGICAL in every sense…
essentially you tried to scale human qualities with machines and upsize it WITHOUT ACTUALLY REALIZING WHAT IS IT ABOUT HUMAN STRUCTURE that made them useful in combat.
well considering that this is the first generation mechs it's suppose to solve the "do you have it / can you built it" problem, performance and combat role issues came later, when they have developed that far.
It's the next step for shows and entertainment you mean… it never have any logic or practical use in the battlefield.
well, i do see good potentials in peace-keeper type operations where urban environment and it's fear factor(of a giant-size-thing wielding a big gun) could do it good.
Hmmm… good point, maybe it has some use in the field where combat is not expected and it's intimidation value serve more purpose.
at least we don't have to worry of it being hit by high velocity rifle rounds or worse RPGs.
I could also envision (but then, I am cursed with a vivid imagination) a future scenario where orbital lasers and kinetic weapons can immediately target and destroy anything larger than a small-/medium-size vehicle.
In such a case, an armoured suit (or a slightly larger "mecha") might be the largest and most powerful ground combat unit you can realistically deploy.
And no, I didn't dream all that up myself. Read "Through Struggle, The Stars" by John J. Lumpkin (http://www.thehumanreach.net/).
Regards & all,
Thomas L. Nielsen
Luxembourg
What if they changed it to a quadrapedal design that walked rather than rolled?
Frankly if the laser or orbital weapon are capable of hitting a small/medium vehicle from orbit anytime they want ON THE MOVE even, then the same fate will befell the mech and ANY infantry squad really.
i mean for example if we have the capability to send one guided anti tank orbital kinetic shell straight to a tank from orbit, then all they have to do is swap the shell with a canister instead loaded with flechette or other suitably lethal anti personnel and light vehicle and BAM instant anti infantry and 'slightly oversized' mech area denial.
Anything that so much as move then on the ground that is not masked by heavy camouflage will be instantly minced from orbit.
We don't have such capability of course since finding and hitting a mobile target on the ground from orbit is worse than needle in a haystack.
Fortunately the likelihood of that happening is frankly low, because similar to how ADS grew as air power threat becomes real, so will the ASAT if the satellite threat grows.
We haven't developed more extensive ASAT capability since we want to avoid weaponizing space.
When someone does put credible military threat of such degree from space and not just spy satellite, ASAT is going to be the new trend and when a fight between countries possessing them ignite, satellites are going to be falling from the sky as each side shoot each others satellite down first and establish a safe zone much like the ADS creates an anti aircraft zone.
Exactly, imagine an urban operation where you're only likely to face irregular infantry equipped with small arms. You'd want to have light armored vehicles, like a Stryker, to provide protection and mobility. But the opposition, understanding your reliance on wheeled vehicles, throws up barricades and IED's along major streets. A 4m hominoid robot or skeleton would still be able to fit under most powerlines and bridges, while seeing rooftops and upper floors of buildings. The thing could clamber over barricades, wade across ditches, and bypass all the other usual impediments to street traffic. And the intimidate factor means it can clear a crowd without having to shoot. It's basically a mechanized police horse in riot gear.
Funny you mention mechanized police horse in riot gear, there's an old anime from around the 80s/90s called Patlabor where the police use roughly 4m tall mechs (for use against mechs used by civilians for construction and the like) and their weapons are basically upscaled versions of regular human sized weapons and they even, occasionally, dress them in riot style gear.
I think that 4m is probably the practical extent of how large a mech could be made and still be useful although I'd say that 4m is probably at the extreme limits. A much smaller mech, more like a large suit powered armor, like the one from the anime MADOX 01, about 2- 3m tall armed with a mini-gun or small rotary cannon, a few rockets or small missiles, and fitted with some sort of high mobility system could be pretty nasty. That's of course assuming that we eventually develop the tech to make a 2 – 3m tall mech very fast and maneuverable. Depending on the environment it could potentially make mince meat out of tanks by hitting them at the tops of their turrets where the armor is nice and thin, and if given maneuver room it would, theoretically, be able to out maneuver a tank and do and FPS circle strafe type maneuver keeping and move around the tank faster than the turret can traverse.
Im waiting for a Timberwolf.
The Smile shot. Now I want one.
Nice toy. Expensive as hell for piece of art, which website claims it to be. Video does not convince me it functional. If i were to compare this to anime, i'd say it would be Votoms size machine or Workmate (Appleseed). However, those arms would be able grab something easily or conviently. Perhaps money they're gain form this prototype/art piece wil lead to more functional item. PR really has people going about this on the net so far.
Love to see limited production & lower price for Mecha.
Awesome
have Options:
Firefighter
Security
Utility models.
Next step Gundams
Ok, call dibs on a Madcat AND a Raven (Madcat for fire support, Raven for nipping down to the shops for milk etc.)
Dear Santa…
i swear i gonna built something of this class after i graduate, and i’m not stopping until i’m able to mount a pair of 205mm recoiless gun on it’s shoulder.
That shouldn't be a problem technically…
I mean i am not sure what's stopping you from designing a stable platform mounted on wheels with elevated platform holding the recoiless rifle.
As long as we don't actually intend to bring one into actual use, we don't have to worry of the rather dizzying array of practical problem, in which case it should be fairly straightforward to do what you want as long as it can support the weight.
the problem is that i want to built a more or less humanoid design with the specs that i previously describe and trying to field it in field conditions.
if by field condition you mean actual combat use then that would be not only highly unlikely to start with but suicidal if you actually go ahead with it.
well, that's the problem, trying to convince a country to fund the R&D it required and to deploy it in field conditions. Unlike the U.S., my country wouldn't have many chance to take part in a field condition other than PKOs.
It doesn't have to be for combat, fitted with some pneumatic cannons it would make for one hell of a pumpkin chucker.
Holy crap, it's just like an SV from Phantom Crash! :D
About the same size and everything.
as a product, this is Bullshit …but it is Art for sure..they might get that much at a charity auction.
I don't know, man. It sure would be easy to mount some real weapons onto something like this. Then again, it's basically just a slow, one-person armored car that presents a huge target and probably can't go off-road.
Now, if they made one with a v-hull and articulating legs that allow it to lower itself to about car-height and powerful drive-by-wire in-hub wheel motors capable of propelling it to at least 60 miles per hour, they'd have a serious platform on their hands with actual civil and military applications.
Imagine if you had a vehicle that could hide behind structures and raise itself up just enough for its gun to peek over the top while the rest remains in defilade, or lift one of its wheels to ride over a tall obstacle. As it stands, this is just a moving piece of art. However, with enough R&D money, something like this could one day be practical, battlefield-proven technology.
as a product, this is BuIIshiat …but it is Art for sure..they might get that much at a charity auction.
Is it stealthy or modular? Because if it isn't it's crap……..
relax, it's barely pass prototype stage, stealth and modular comes later when this tech had reach the point where it needed it ( like when it's field-ready)
So what you're saying is my attempt at sarcasm was unsuccessful?
the truth? yes, very unsuccessful sarcasm. no offense.
Of course this may just be me and a little of subject but if we are looking for a full body suit why not use boron carbide. One can shape it to a leg or torso and then actually use a HUD in the helmet. It actually would work and it would stand almost anything short of a 50. Cal. Mechs would be awesome don’t get me wrong but all it would do is attract an airstrike or rocket fire. When that happens it would leave troops wthout their “scapegoat “if u will.
lol @ claw = crow
All I want to know is can I get it in a street legal version with 30 mph top limit. I can just see tooling around Houston. The best part would be putting my handicap tags on it and calling it my new motorized wheel chair lol
Just think- the US Gov can buy a whole load of them (5) and sink all defense budgets into them and upgrading them and use them to replace the battalions of soldiers we have now- just as they are doing with the over priced high tech ships- then we'll have an outnumber navy AND army (AF too, if the JSF costs keep going up like they are)!!
replacing soldiers will never happen, replacing them with something equivalent in size, that has some room for argument… even though the argument is so slim.
but at this size?
the chance is practically zero, because soldiers are needed for many things, including things that require them to work in areas of human dwelling…
a soldier replacement effectively MUST be able to move like a soldier, FIT into spaces a soldier can, and DO everything a soldier can or expected to do.
This, is the wrong direction if the goal is soldier replacement.
If you people had any idea how much went into making this thing you wouldnt bag on it so much…
The guys who made this took an ENORMOUS risk in the development of this unit footing the bill entirely. Its not a practical production model but a proof of concept, one they believed in so much it justified the cost. You can damn well bet people like DARPA are taking a look at it despite what you consider being a frivoulus toy or " Art".
And when one day these things are parked on the corner in front of our house enforcing curfiew well see just how many smarmy misinformed comments we get from the troll patroll…LOL
It looks like thw ones that Iron Man always defeats in the movies. Just a thought. . .
Cheers
Sorry T ipo it should reed "Looks Like thee 1's that iron Man all ways defeats in the Move ws."
LOL
Cheers
Add shielding and it could be useful for cleaning up some oh, nuclear reactors. I hear Japan may have some that are in serious disrepair.
It was disheartening to see Japan, a leader in robotics and automation, send suicide squads into the Fukushima reactor sites.
You realise that the entire fukashima accident was blown WAY out of proportion right?
No one has died from it. Infact there are people all over the world who live in area's that because of thorium get a far larger dose year round than the people who went into fukashima.
Just a thought.
Once Kim Dotcom gets acquitted (we know he will be since it's a DOJ trainwreck) I can forsee him being first in line to get a couple to patrol his island along with his inflatable tank.
As for defenses, being as tall as it is, it'll have better LoS and dealing with aircraft, why wouldn't it have it's own anti a/c defenses of some sort. It's a platform that has a lot of potential down the road, even specializing roles.
I'm just saying it starts from somewhere and this could be it.
As Peter Griffin would say, "Freakin SWEET!". I bet I could even take care of those pesky squirrels in my dang pecan trees too! "Does it come in black?"
I could see something like this leading to construction and such robotics.
Its a long ways from anything for combat though.
As other have said the combat mechs in Appleseed are probably the best bet.
Like the labors from Patlabor which would eventually lead to Patrol or Police labors which in turn would probably eventually lead to military labors.
actually, in the anime "Patlabor", military labors appear before law-enforcement units, and older units like the Hannibal had already been in active service and Peace-Keeping operations overseas when the concept of law-enforcing labor where being considered by the government.
I have one kidney for sale.
Asking 2.4m US.
If my dad was rich, I'd have one.
it is quite amusing that many of the comments condemning things like this as rubbish FOREVER because it lacks armour and speed etc…just how similar it was in the early 1900s when the tank was originally developed. We all now dismiss those original critics as retarded old-fashioned cavalry aristocrats.
things take time to mature. this thing is, as people have mentioned, merely proof of concept and nonviable currently. This does not mean things like this will be nonviable in the future.
BB guns?
That looks to be the worst attack it could survive.
First time I have seen spending $1.2M will guarantee you NOT to get laid… NERD ALERT!!!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/projecthexapo…
I wonder if PATLABOR name is still copyrighted?
I want 3 of them. On a side note, the DOD is probably figuring out some black ops budget they can put them in to purchase for further testing.
How long will it be before we can bring MechWarrior vehicles into the real world battle field, complete with Particle Cannons and Plasma Cannons? Hopefully, not very long.
Of course up-sizing the human structure too far and you get a joke, but, say you up-sized it to about just under 3.5 or 4 meters tall standing, it's basically a man sitting in a frame of machine(sort of like a crossover of Ironman's suit and Avatar's AMP), not the type of "super robots" you see in anime and cartoon nowadays.
With that you got a unit that is armored (maybe able to withstand firepower just under .50 cal or a RPG, NOT a tank's main gun or any AT missile), able to carry some heavy squad-support fire power (something like a heavy MG or grenade launcher), while still retaining some of an infantry's agility (NOT super speed or dodging a tank round). It wouldn't get into most urban buildings, but it's good at street-brawling and enemy-suppression
Which do have some potential in an urban environment or rain forest terrain where conventional vehicles face certain problems with getting through obstacles that are a nuisance to wheeled vehicles and legged beings might have more mobility in these scenarios.
While this type of machine is barely pass it's prototype stage, we really shouldn't be judging too much on them, when this piece of technology is field-ready, it's fair we discuss their performance and combat roles then.
I see your point,
Though in the event of a really difficult terrain such as rain forest, or urban the question then became this:
why not use infantry? power armor or what not would boost infantry capability but retaining most of the soldier's dimension which is still more compact than 4 meter tall machine, and thus definitely more flexible.
The other problem i see there is with it's height,
a 4m tall humanoid machine is as you can probably guess still very tall, and easily discerned still if not shot.
that's nearly twice the height of a tank, and a tank is already relatively easy to spot in the field, a 4m tall machine even far more likely.
As small as a tank's frontal section surface area is, it can still be reliably hit by anti tank ordnance from miles away, so a 4m tall machine in the battlefield standing upright would be the equivalent of a soldier standing upright in a war zone, everyone will see it, and not likely to miss such an obvious target.
While everyone tries to be as low profile as possible to minimize the risk of being seen and hit, such machine would effectively be announcing it's presence with it's distinctive and unmistakable tall profile.
This is essentially what I was trying to get at, but you stated it more clearly and eloquently.
The issues you bring up quite easily disqualify a mech from assault missions, but how about pulling security / sentry around a large base? I'm thinking mobile watch tower, possibly with significantly increased firepower.
The enemy already knows where our major bases are, so hiding isn't an issue, per say. I've got to imagine being in an armored, weaponized, air conditioned, mobile mech would beat sitting in a tower.
Keeping them around a base would also solve the fuel, ammo, and repairs problems.
well, for the foreseeable technological development, i don't think it should be wise to pitch into a frontal brawling with main battle tanks.
Tanks and Mechs are in different classes, it's just like the difference between an apple and an orange.
Mechs will do much better if they work in conjunction with the infantry and using their armor and firepower to the maximum advantage over enemy infantries and light vehicles.
And in the foreseeable future, mech armor will not be able to hold up a tank round, because it's NEVER MEANT TO BE. A mech armor will be more reasonable to be design against .50 cal machine gun fire and to an extend a RPG round (with mainly infantry level firepower in consideration).
If future (for the foreseeable future) military contractors claim their mech can withstand a tank round, and unless they had come up with an new super-alloy-metal, it's just a joke.
That has some merit indeed, i didn't consider that before…
Hmmm, 2 question though that i can think of immediately of the head…
one is how durable can we make the machine, because as fragile as a tower might be, if you notice the tower in the US FoB usually are still fortified to an extent, with sandbags and extra protection… being static has it's advantage as it means you have plenty of options to reinforce the tower structure. Options which the mech won't exactly have.
The second question of course would be, is it worth the money?
A tower is not exactly expensive at all.. we'd rather not lose sentries of course but unless the price per unit is acceptable it may well made no economic sense to equip a base with one instead of just building more tower and fortifying them and adding more sentries.
Except on a base you've got roads and open areas – the 'rough terrain' argument doesn't work.
Look, I'm all for duplicating nature in engineering; materials, swarm-logic, biochemicals, etc.
But it's a biological impossibility (since it has to be physically seperate) for nature to produce *WHEELS*. These are a very simple invention which humanity has had a long and successful history with.
well, in the condition where both sides had trouble getting their heavy vehicles into battle, imagine what advantage your side could gain with mechs supporting your infantry, you get a mobile heavy armed unit that had superior armor protection than your average infantry, and your opponent had just light vehicle and infantry firepower.
and well, you could call my vision of mechs are infantry power-suits on steroid.
If you start small though and with more modest goal,
the first order of business most likely is to make an exhaustive and complete analysis of the viability of the system in the first place.
no one, not even an adventurous investor or backer is going to put money into something that doesn't show research work done on the feasibility or viability of the proposal to start with naturally.
In another word: a theoretical analysis to the full spectrum of the design… how survivable is it, how much capacity can it reasonably carry, how fast can we expect it to go with known locomotion system, WHAT USE will it be doing on the field exactly… etc
and finally, how much will it COST to produce them.
Then pray that an investor find the result of the presentation acceptable or favorable.
Honestly? You might be quite disappointed once you do the research.
There's got to be a dictator somewhere who'd want to pay for it..
If you imagine that scenario, which side do you think will see the other first?
the one with all infantry, or the one with infantry and mech?
there are only 3 alternatives really:
A. the mech screens in front of the infantry, which is suicidal for the mech
B. the mech stays with the infantry formation, which makes the infantry AND the mech formation both as likely to be spotted since it draws attention towards the infantry position as well.
C. the mech trails behind the infantry, ie: infantry screening the mech which is the most likely outcome, but puts the initial contact in favor of the one with heavier infantry composition.
The sole hope then essentially is that once the mech engages, it will help offset the disadvantage that the infantry screening the mech has with their lighter composition than the opposing side.
There's also the question of whether the infantry won't get better force multiplier with other support types.
Artillery, airstrikes, gunships, each of them can support the infantry there and yet each of these support are still just as useful in other types of engagement terrain.
The mech have the advantage of staying on the location of course compared to the other support though it almost certainly carry nowhere near the firepower and effect that the other support do.
That single advantage also offset by how likely is the mech going to survive once it is spotted, the moment it open fire it most certainly going to be spotted, so the question then is… how well will it SURVIVE once the opposing infantry sees it?
The problem with this idea is that whereas the tank and other armored vehicles for example is king of the open areas and rapid maneuver on the ground and there's not much the others can do to cover that, the advantage given by the mech is limited enough that one would question, why not just use more infantry, or otherwise better infantry capability and improve their existing fire support?
If we assume perfectly equal capability otherwise….
one side sends infantry, the other side sends infantry and mech, then the one with the infantry only composition is most certainly going to have either one or both of the two things:
A. they will either reach the position first since their transport carrying just infantry which are lighter and easier to move can get there before the other side can with their mech transport.
B. heavier infantry composition than the opposing side since whatever transport capacity the other side use to carry the mech as near as possible to the field means transport capacity that he didn't use to carry more troops into the field.
This puts the mech side with 2 options:
1. engages the other side with his lighter infantry first to ensure the enemy didn't get the chance to seize and dug in before he can, a prospect that is not going to be pleasant at all for the infantry that will be outnumbered.
2. wait until the mech reach the zone and then move as a combined force against the hostile infantry ahead of them and dislodge them the old fashioned way.
a prospect equally daunting since having the mech engage dug in infantry with such high profile vehicle is equivalent to suicide, and still bad enough though not as bad for the infantry screening it that will be forced to dislodge the enemy's infantry hold out, a process that in most history are always more expensive for the attacker.
first of all for a MECH to really be used in such terrain would be impossible without proper detection/scanning/field surving devices. U guys are forgetting that is a MACHINE not human. Why dou you think Drones and UAV are used nowaday? who ever spotts the enemy first has the advantage that is common sense. Being able to attack the enemy on long range before they react is the advantage they want. A mech will always be a support unit like a tank but being much more mobile it can be used in narrow terrain such as jungle etc. but equipped with havy weaponry it will rip enemy lines apart while your team sqauds are encountering them in broken formation. Also you are thinking too lightly of those supporting units like Jets or helicopters, missiles are destroying wide areas and machine guns ripping apart trees and walls. Real live isn't as forgiving as games or movies. And one last thing, the topic is a Mech USED in War, meaing the techonologie must be ready not only Mechanically but also Software.
Quick question for this argument, I was wondering whats your spec on the soldiers power armor? Are we talking about something similar to the one with the link below, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNEOI7bYl3c.
or like say something more sci fi?
The spec matters not ultimately because the base principle are unchanged essentially.
What does that mean?
simple, for example let's assume that whatever is compact and light enough for a light vehicle, can eventually be miniaturized enough for the power armor in a smaller scale and if a mech for whatever reason become a viability, so will it share similar equipment… so in a rough scheme their base capability will be something in line with a smaller scale version of whatever is the most advanced light vehicle equipment available, and since whatever advancement that one side gets can be applied to the other, ultimately it matters not what their spec is as an equivalent in either smaller or larger scale exist on the other side.
The one part that DOES NOT CHANGE by much however is their dimension and profile, and this is the one that i am basically arguing above because this determines the baseline of their capability.
In the case of a mech and a power armor infantry, one can assume that an equivalent exist on either side but in different scale.
In such case, the mech is STILL the first one to be seen since it's still the one with over twice the height of the infantry in power armor, and the one with much larger visual profile.
This part, no spec can cover…
If we assume some sort of advanced camouflage system for the mech to cover this, then applying the same camouflage to the infantry AGAIN result in the infantry being harder to spot than the mech by simple virtue of their size… so we're back to square one again.
I think you misunderstood how things work,
Drones and UAV are used because they want to REDUCE casualties…
prior to Drones and UAV we STILL make recon and surveillance to acquire information and find out where the enemies are among other things, the only difference is that instead of manned recon unit, they are now unmanned… that's it really. And we STILL use recon squad, planes (manned), and otherwise just as we do before… but now we have the extra option of sending a recon that does not risk human life in the process.
And incidentally when it comes to things like 'SUPPORTING troops' in the front line the way you envision them with direct fire weapon, the mech essentially are subjected to everything that a front line unit face (you don't come into several kilometer range within direct line of sight of the enemy to fire your weapon and expect to not be hit because you are 'supporting' unit… that's nonsense).
IE: there's no such thing as supporting troops with direct fire weapon in such manner without a significant risk of being shot unless you are capable of mitigating that risk by somehow reducing your profile, or otherwise minimizing the chance of being hit.
This is why no military ever took the idea seriously for combat unit.
Their high profile will make them extremely attention grabbing and a magnet for incoming fire (i mean seriously, can one FAIL TO SPOT the mech as it advance in the jungle? REALLY?? Failing to spot the infantry with his camouflage that are moving very carefully to avoid swaying vegetation is one thing, but failing to spot the 3-4 m high machine??? seriously now…)
my advice when you are going up against a tank: don't even try to outmaneuver it's turret, get into cover, and grab some real anti-tank firepower, then hit it with everything you got.