Nature preserve maintenance is actually one of the things I imagine mechs might be good for.
Their low ground pressure and ability to step carefully wouldn't disturb the ground as much as tires or tracks. They wouldn't leave ruts.
Their arms and hands would be useful for a wide variety of tasks. They could pick up fallen trees off trails and be bear-proof while still being as dextrous as a human.
Or instead of being human shaped they could be shaped like an animal that evolved to live there.
John Deer, the tractor company, actually built a six legged mecha for doing forestry where wheels and tracks aren't allowed. Feet can have very low ground pressure.
I don't believe it went into mass production. It was a limited run at most. It was really cool tho.
@bunny_jane what the fuck this rules
@bunny_jane @rockario @BestGirlGrace Dare you to make a lancer character based on this
@bunny_jane Oh, cool scorpion.
@bunny_jane i hope more deers will build mechas 😁.
@bunny_jane NGL this looks solarpunk af
@bunny_jane I've seen these kind of devices in use in the alps some year ago, very useful in areas where you want to build but have no roads for km's on end and steep mountains.
@wmd Are you sure they were walking machines? John Deere only made two of these. I'm not aware of any other company that makes forestry/logging machines that walk to get around, but there are a lot of tracked machines that have legs for stability.
@wmd what i mean is, can you tell me more about the machines you saw? I'm fascinated
@bunny_jane I did miss remember. Sorry.
Still was a pretty cool device, where all four wheels could be used as legs to either role, or stand with.
@wmd No problem! And I love those machines too! They're super cool. There's competitions to see who can do the coolest tricks with them. The legs can be controlled individually, and they actually can walk (very slowly) if the operator is skilled enough.
@bunny_jane Back then, when even the future was better!
More info here:
https://bot-spotting.tumblr.com/post/164333318170/john-deere-walking-harvester-walking-tractor
Supposedly it's still on display at the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, Illinois, USA