Mecha, IRL: Doable, or no...?

[Silas Parrish]

And Utena's here to contradict everything I say! Jeez, that never happens! stare The problems of mecha on the ground are only that much worse than those in space. Now you've also gotta fight gravity. As I said, density must go up exponentially as mass goes up, or structural integrity will be compromised. That means one heavy b*****d of a machine. Now then...all that weight (some would estimate upwards of a few hundred tons, for a moderately armored mecha) concentrated into two points-- namely, the feet --would make the machine sink into nearly any terrain it tries to stand on. Also...howitzers or the like is all it takes to topple and destroy a giant robot, assuming you get somehow around the glaring problem of weight. And this, children, is why we don't base our opinions on things that happen on TV shows!  

[Frog Apocalypse]

Nobody ever said it had to be that big, look at the army's mechanized suit thingy. Cover that in armor and voila! mobile suit!  

[Silas Parrish]

That would be a powered suit, not a mecha. As cool as I think Iron Man is, he's really not practical, either. A well placed cannon shot could do away with that, too. As advanced as our technology has become, if it were possible to implement mecha or powered suits, don't you think we would have?  

[Frog Apocalypse]

We don't even have autonomous planes, we still have to control them. Once we get past that, I think we can manage a mecha of some kind.  

[Silas Parrish]

Correction. We have autonomous planes. Ever heard of the predator? There is a purely robotic version. And we're not going to manage a mecha, because they are impossible.  

[Frog Apocalypse]

We still have to program every way-point, every target location, every GPS co-ordinate for take-off and landing, that doesn't sound fully autonomous to me.  

[Silas Parrish]

Do you not think the same has to happen for mecha? Even more so! There will be so many hydraulic motive devices moving at once, virtually everything will have to be pre-programmed.  

[Mr_BlueCamo]

wow this is getting so intense i can feel the flames from it hehe burning_eyes  

[Frog Apocalypse]

They could be controlled and stabilized the same way current generation fighter jets are, by wire. It would take an insane amount of computing power, but it will become possible at the rate computers are advancing.  

[Silas Parrish]

But one tiny little glitch could cause one of these to fall, faster than any gunfire. But let's assume we have computers sophisticated enough. That still doesn't solve the weight and maneuverability issue. Or the inertia. Or the plethora of structural issues. Or the vast list of inherent vulnerabilities that come with a humanoid design. Or the power source. Or the cost of building one. (don't spit that estimate from the internet at me again. that's some nerd's opinion, not fact. R&D is a long, arduous, and very expensive process, there is a LOT of it to be done before implementing any new technology.)  

[Frog Apocalypse]

One rocket to the knee joint and there goes the entire mecha. I never said they were invincible, I know they have multiple weaknesses. But so does every other type of armament we have. Tanks aren't very fast, and they consume a s**t ton of fuel, but they have a very good gun and crew survivability. A mecha on the ground would have to be more along the line of a Guntank type. But that is where tanks come in. In space I see them as plausible, even if they aren't what we see in anime today.

Edit: Even machines such as this could be considered mecha if weapons were attached:  

[Silas Parrish]

I still think there's no reason to build something so impractical. Problem #1: The head, with all the sensors in it. That's an easy target if ever there was one. BOOM! You're blind, deaf, and soon to be dead.
Problem #2: Bigger isn't always better...especially when speed's a big concern. Something the size of a mecha is all-too-easy to shoot at.
Problem #3: The fuel consumption is sure to be drastic. Much more than a battalion of tanks, or a squadron of fighters.
EDIT: Pfft. Yeah, that looks stable!  

[Frog Apocalypse]

It is actually used where trucks and tracked vehicles cannot go for forestry. Attach a machine gun to it and you have a mecha. It has been proven to be stable, albeit not very fast. But as technology improves I can imagine that speed will increase.  

[Silas Parrish]

But that speed is irrelevant if a man rolls a grenade under it.  

[Frog Apocalypse]

Armor for the underside, Hummers have enoug to take an IED and everyone inside be able to escape injury, and sometimes the Hummer itself able to get away to safety. That is what is more important anyway, crew safety.