My colleague, Paul McLeary, just blogged about the small unmanned ground vehicle (SUGV), just one of numerous systems contained within the U.S. Army's massive Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. I thought I would follow up his entry with one of my own - I got to drive the little 'bot at Ft. Bliss May 21.

The glasses this guy is wearing are all the equipment a soldier needs to operate the robot. The monocle sits over his right eye, and the controller is based on a Nintendo video game. I haven't played Donkey Kong since high school, but I was able to work the controls very easily.

The buttons allow numerous configurations and steering options, along with one of the most important elements of all - a reset button. If you get into trouble - and that could mean needing to back the robot out of a small space or just back it out of a corner - one little button will return the SUGV to its regular configuration.

I drove the SUGV toward a truck with an improvised explosive device (or at least a prop that looks like one) parked under one of the wheels. After zipping toward the truck, I deployed the camera into a position where it lowered its viewfinder close to the ground to get a better view. Then I used the magnification tool to look closely at the IED before backing away and bringing the robot back toward where we were standing.

It's a wonderful tool for soldiers. Before a brigade storms a building, they can deploy the SUGV to sniff around for IEDs, insurgents, or other ugly surprises that might await them. The SUGV also has the capability to switch camera types - to infrared, for example, to detect a thermal image in the pitch black.

The monocle is the only challenging element to the SUGV. The soldier who showed me how to use it admitted that for the first couple of times an NCO uses the glasses, he can get a little bit cross-eyed trying to change focus. I would imagine you get used to it after a little while. I just shut one eye and squinted into the viewfinder.

The SUGV is ruggedized to an extent, but the Army wants to get to a point where it can throw the machine over a wall or through a window without fear of breaking it.