US Military had AT-AT before George Lucas.

I found an article with pictures and information about the US military's quadroped machine... from the 60s.  Very cool.  The website is here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/228920/a_glimpse_at_the_past_the_militarys_first_quadroped.html 

This is the image from the article.  It was supposed to get up to 35 miles per hour.  This below is another image of the military's vehicle.  It's from: http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2011/05/gecamwalker.jpg



And below, the real (by which I mean fictional) AT-AT, from http://brazosvalleybuzz.com/2011/04/14/%E2%80%98star-wars%E2%80%99-fans-rally-to-build-life-sized-at-at/ 

And here's another baby AT-AT.  This one is modern, and it's supposed to take some of the weight off of soldiers' backs.  The image is from: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/extreme-machines-worlds-most-sophisticated-vehicles-932878.html?action=Gallery 

I wonder if George Lucas saw the military AT-AT and used it for inspiration for his movies.  The big weakness is the same with all the other modern stuff.  Capability to blow up/destroy things has moved faster than armor technology.  Something like the AT-AT would be useful like a tank, only in a few situations where tanks can't maneouver.  It seems like it would be a niche tool. 

Oh well.  It still looks cool.