Wars have given us the Jeep, the computer and even the microwave.
Will the war in Iraq give us the Tiger?
Military scientists at Edgewood Chemical Biological Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground hope so. The machine - its full name is the Tactical Garbage to Energy Refinery - combines a chute, an engine, chemical tanks and other components, giving it the appearance of a lunar rover. It's designed to turn food and waste into fuel. If it works, it could save scores of American and Iraqi lives.
Among the biggest threats that soldiers face in the war in Iraq are the roadside bombs that have killed or maimed thousands since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Because some military bases lack a landfill, transporting garbage to dumps miles away in the desert has become a potentially fatal routine for U.S. troops and military contractors.
The Tiger would attempt to solve two problems at once: It would sharply reduce those trash hauls and provide the military with an alternative source of fuel.
It is the latest in a long line of wartime innovations, from can openers to desert boots. The conflict in Iraq has produced innovations such as "warlocks," which jam electronic signals from cell phones, garage door openers and other electronic devices that insurgents use to detonate roadside bombs, according to Inventors Digest.
"In wartime, you're not worried about making a profit necessarily. You're worried about getting the latest technology on the street," said Peter Kindsvatter, a military historian at Aberdeen Proving Ground, who added that money is spent more freely for research when a nation is at war. "Basically, you find yourself in a technology race with your enemy."
The Tiger, now being tested in Baghdad, would not be the first device to turn garbage into energy - a large incinerator near Baltimore's downtown stadiums does it. But it would be among the first to attempt to do it on a small scale. Its creators say it could one day become widely used in civilian life, following the lead of other wartime innovations.
During World War II, contractors developed the Jeep to meet the military's desire for a light, all-purpose vehicle that could transport supplies.
The development of radar technology to spot Nazi planes led to the microwave, according to historians.
