Recently, my character bough a doberman drone for a gigglefest.
However, it made me realise that I have no idea how they look like.

So, anyone can tell me how they look like?

Google helps
I entered : Dobermann Drohne Shadowrun
and found this

http://www.gods-inc.de/macavity/IsleOfShad...gm-doberman.jpg

with an easy Dance
medicineman

mind you, that's a previous edition doberman, they could plausibly have been modified since. but basically, that's what it looks like most likely, or at least close to it.

I thought the Doberman was a anthroform? I imagine it as a 4 legged drone with a LMG on top.

It's a crawler. Anthroforms are human-like. The current model is supposed to look like a robo-dog, but I don't think that there are any official pics around.

Thats the Steel Lynx

Hough!
Medicineman

As of SR4, the Doberman is a walker. See the list of standard upgrades in Arsenal

GM-Nissan Doberman: Walker Mode, Weapon Mount
(external, fixed, remote control), Clearsight 3 and
Targeting 3 autosofts

EDIT - what I wrote was rubbish, sorry

"GM-Nissan Doberman: The Doberman is a perimeter-patrol crawler drone equally effective during daytime or night-time conditions." SR p350

"Walker Mode The transport mechanism of the drone or vehicle is completely swapped out for one that turns it into a walker, or at least provides it with multiple independent wheels or tracks so that it can handle most obstacles with the same ease as a human." Arsenal p146

So you could play it either way. I like to think of it as a crawler with a super-flexible, independent strut track system.

Robert (aka Spanner)

when discussing shadowrun drones, anthroform doesn't necessarily mean human-like in form (although it really should). in terms of SR4 drones, anthroform appears to mean "uses legs for locomotion". (iirc, biped and quadruped are example specialisations for pilot anthroform, for example). it may also include wacky propulsion systems such as slithering like a snake, but that isn't entirely clear (snake could also be exotic vehicle, for example)

Steel Lynx is a wheeled drone in 3E, too. Has a very slim body that it can bend in the middle, thus raising the top-mounted weapon turret.

The Centipede shown in Arsenal on page 117 is described as a walker and shown to have four legs. Bust-A-Move on the same page is also described as a walker and has two legs. Page 106 of Arsenal lists the Doberman as being a walker as well; the Steel Lynx doesn't have a walker mode, and as there's a partial pic of one in SR4a on page 96 it seems that design is relatively unchanged since SR3.

Visually I've always imagined the Doberman drone as dog-like in build with the weapon turret mounted on its back (see the Arsenal errata) since SR4 came out. A variant could even have feet like the Tachikoma from Ghost In The Shell; four legs ending in wheels to use for greater speed (since the Doberman can run 90kph).

Yeah, the Tachikoma legs+wheels setup seems the most likely. A metal monster the size of a Mini Cooper trying to barrel down hallways like a robotic cheetah seems like it would be damaging and loud as all hell.

Fortunately the Doberman is a medium sized drone, so it's about the size of a (I'd say small) motorcycle at most (unlike the large sized Tachikoma). I'd say most Doberman drones are probably about the size of a medium to dog in overall shape and build.

I've allways pictured them as something like [img]http://warisboring.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/big_dog_military_robots.jpg[/img] This, but with a machine gun of some sort on top.

Same here, Matsci.

Assuming the doberman is a continuation of today's Big Dog, would they have kept it sounding like a swarm of angry chainsaw bees?

I always get the Doberman mixed up with the Dalmatian, even though the Dalmatian flies..

Really, the problem with a leggy robodog is when it runs 90 kph. Trying to keep traction at those speeds would be ridiculous.

One of our player covered hers in Faux Fur and gave it a Ares Alpha with 2 Drums [100 AR ammo and a 50 round GL] and had it modified to bark

Cheetahs manage - why won't a technological device 60 years from now?

Ever seen a cheetah take a 90 degree turn on a linoleum floor?

Just strap maneuver jet engines on it, and you've got a deal.

No, but I honestly don't expect a cheetah to be running at over 100kph on linoleum. For the Doberman, it'd probably end up being a Pilot test at a threshold of 4 to make that hard 90º turn at high speed; easier if it has a good Maneuver autosoft installed.

But considering that the flesh and blood cat is topping out about 30kph faster than the Doberman drone, I too don't see why a futuristic device cannot truly run as fast. The only difference really would be endurance.

And it'd be a great name for a model variant on the GM-Nissan Doberman; the Knight Errant Cheetah. Acceleration of 12/30 and Speed of 90 (or 108kph), but Handling of -1 and Armor 5 because of the increased speed and lighter design; everything else unchanged from the Doberman model.

The basic Tachikoma foot/wheel arrangement is how our group approaches the Doberman's walker module function. When it needs to move with precision or stability, then the wheels open up as feet and when it needs to move at speed they fold back into wheels.

Weird, it should be the other way around - walkers can be anthroforms (e.g. cyborg cases) but don't have to be. What is your source?

A dog at running over linoleum or wooded floors is already enough

I think its due to Pilot: Anthroform is used to control walkers.

Frankly, with the books stating there are always similar models by other manufacturers, I suppose a GM can always say that any land-based drone has both a wheeled and a walker variants - why not be nice to riggers, they are having their life hard enough as it is.

walkers aren't even necessarily walkers, when you're talking SR4 drones

that part about possibly applying to stuff that moves like a snake is pretty much just speculation on my part.

I see - thanks for pointing this out. Still makes my head hurt a bit

it may help you to rename it to "pilot walker" for your home games.