2024-08-20 23:55:25
They arm them with rifles, grenade launchers and flamethrowers
Man’s best friend, the dog, has always accompanied him, even during war. Already in Antiquity, “military” dogs existed, with the first evidence of them dating back to around 600 BC. Quadrupeds tracked enemies, guarded prisoners, and protected warriors. The Romans and Greeks had guard dogs, and meanwhile the great Attila used them in his battles. The situation seems no different today. But instead of real dogs, the military already uses robots on the battlefield.
Robot dogs could even Ukraine’s odds against Russia
Machines have long been used to guard military bases. But Ukraine is a game-changer, putting robot dogs on the front lines. 30 robots were delivered to the country by the British company Brit Alliance. And the four-legged machines are already successfully used as scouts in the Donetsk region – one of the regions where the fiercest fighting with Russian forces is taking place.
And according to the head of the Brit Alliance, Kyle Thorburn, there have already been significant results from the robot fighting dogs. Before their introduction, the Ukrainians gave enormous sacrifices, but now the situation is changing. “We were concerned about the increasing number of casualties on the front line due to enemy drones. Therefore, we discussed the possibilities for a safer solution for reconnaissance in high-risk areas. The results are shocking. Our robot dogs perform reconnaissance missions on the front line, reducing the risk to soldiers,” he says.
The robots can move at a speed of up to 15 km per hour. Yes, they don’t have the speed of real dogs, but unlike them, they don’t get tired – at least until their battery dies. They can be controlled from a distance of up to 3.5 kilometers. Depending on the model, their price ranges from 4,000 to 8,000 euros.
Robot dogs can blend in perfectly with nature. This is clear from a video of the Ukrainian operations in the Donetsk region. It shows one of the machines covered in a camouflage blanket. As soon as it stops moving, it becomes invisible to the human eye. As well as for thermal cameras thanks to the technology of the German company Concamo.
If the robot is captured, the data stored on it can be deleted immediately. This eliminates the possibility of the enemy extracting any information from the machine.
What are robot dogs?
Brit Alliance is not a robot manufacturer and apparently did not create the machines themselves. But Internet analysts were quick to identify the new four-legged creatures in Ukraine. According to the information, they are UniTree Go2 Pro. They are made in China and are basically DJI drones but with legs. They are efficient, high-tech machines at a low price.
The UniTree Go2 Pro costs $3,500 and shipping from China is $1,000. Their weight is less than 30 kg, which makes them easily portable. The legs of the machines can also be folded for maximum convenience.
The Go2 Pro have an intelligent control system with several sets of fisheye cameras. They are equipped with a powerful 1.5 TFlop processor and intelligent software that allows them to remain stable even on uneven surfaces or rough terrain. They can operate autonomously to some extent, such as following the operator visually, and can also perform more intelligent “lateral following”. This four-legged robot is notable for using a 4D LIDAR (light detection and ranging sensor) as well as a 1280×720 resolution light camera in its nose, Forbes reports.
The robots actually provide vital information to soldiers so they can avoid enemy fire. They are remotely controlled and basically a walking drone. But with many more advantages.
First of all, the dogs can go to places that would be difficult for regular drones to scout. While there are some specialized drones that can operate inside buildings, they are rare, and even then flying between four walls presents a challenge. The robotic dogs
can easily explore closed spaces, search houses, bunkers
or to cross trenches before the infantry.
Second, as the drone flies over wires and misses mines and traps, the robot dog triggers them. This way soldiers know they can safely follow the path of the machine. If it does get trapped and destroyed, repair or replacement is cheap and easy. It will always be preferable to sacrifice a robot than a human.
The quadruped has other advantages that put it above drones. One of them is the ability to carry luggage. It doesn’t matter if it’s a sensor, a bomb, or supplies, they don’t pose a problem for the artificial animal. The weight they can carry is up to 9 kg. Ukraine has a variety of small wheeled robots that it uses to carry luggage, but the legged robot can reach places inaccessible to other machines.
Another feature is their battery life. The robot can go to a location and simply observe for an extended period of time, tracking the movement of the enemy.
Interestingly, however, operators easily become attached to their machines. In Iraq, bomb disposal teams working with the much less attractive iRobot also hold it dearly. After an explosion in which their faithful companion was injured, they demanded that their loyal machine be repaired and returned rather than replaced with another one. One report states that operators become “dangerously” attached to their robots and them
treated as pets
“Every unit should have one of these dogs,” says Kurt, one of the Ukrainian commanders in the 28th Mechanized Brigade. His photos together with a robot dog were published on the official X account of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
But the shipment of robots from Great Britain is not the first for Ukraine. In June 2022, the US military announced that it would provide Kiev with robotic dogs that could help clear minefields and dispose of other munitions, writes The National Interest. Two years later, Ukrainian soldiers from the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade shared on Telegram the results of field trials of a robotic dog in combat conditions.
In the footage, the quadruped moves dynamically in urban and rural environments, jumping, rolling, bushwalking and running alongside a soldier. The portability of the robot is evident as the soldier carries it with ease in one hand.
The world is massively developing quadrupeds as weapons
The idea of using robot dogs in war is not new. In September 2020, the US Department of the Air Force in partnership with the US Northern and Space Command conducted a second test of the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS). It is a digital system that is designed to collect, process and exchange data between US forces and their allies.
During the exercise, the military also tested four-legged Vision 60 robots at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Guards developed by Ghost Robotics were supposed to be part of the first exercise earlier in the year, but bandwidth issues prevented full use of the technology, ClearanceJobs reports.
“In the future, the success of conflict will depend on the information soldiers have about the battlefield,” said Dr. Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the US Air Force.
“These robotic dogs are a new technology that we are testing as part of the training. The dogs give us a visual of the area while keeping our Soldiers closer to the aircraft,” Master Sergeant Lee Boston, 321st CSI load lifter, commented at the time.
But although the original idea of creating the dogs was simply to scout the terrain and protect people’s lives, a few years later in 2023, the US created the first robotic dog with a flamethrower.
Weighing around 17 kg, the Thermonator robot dog is equipped with a compact ARC flamethrower and can operate independently or with remote control via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. It is able to overcome various obstacles and work in difficult conditions, including forested and snowy terrains.
In addition, tests of robot dogs with grenade launchers are being conducted in the US, which shows the potential technological progress in this area. However, it is important to note that the use of four-legged weaponized machines in the States is still in the development and testing phase.
The United States is not the only one trying to create an autonomous robot. They are not the only ones aiming to turn four-legged animals into weapons.
Both China and Russia are developing armed autonomous systems, which has fueled serious concern in recent years. Against the backdrop of what is happening, a number of researchers, technologists, scientists and academics are calling for a ban on armed robots.
In June, China showed off an armed robotic dog that also resembles the Unitree Go2 in design. Its difference with the robot dogs in Ukraine is the presence of a QBZ-95 (Type 95) assault rifle mounted on its back.
“It can serve as a new member of our combat operations in urban environments and
to replace our human soldiers
The machine can be used for reconnaissance, to identify the enemy and to engage the target,” said a soldier named Chen Wei in a CCTV video.
In 2023, China uses robot dogs armed with rifles during a joint exercise involving Chinese, Cambodian, Laotian, Malaysian, Thai and Vietnamese militaries.
The use of robot dogs during exercises with foreign militaries is unusual and indicates an advanced stage of development. Normally, new equipment is not brought into joint exercises with another country, so the robotic dogs must have reached a certain level of technical training, the Global Times writes.
At the ARMY-2022 exhibition, a Russian company showed a four-legged M-81 robot armed with a rocket launcher. It was soon revealed to be a rebranded Chinese Unitree that had been jacked up to $16,000, or about four times the actual price.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, drones became one of the main weapons on the battlefield. Whether by land, sea, or air, inexpensive remote-controlled aircraft can destroy sophisticated military machines such as tanks and even warships.
The lethal capabilities of unmanned aerial vehicles seen on the battlefields of Ukraine have shown that they can completely change the course of the conflict. Drones allow militaries with small defense budgets to compete with vastly better armed and funded adversaries.
For now, the Ukrainians use their robot dogs only for intelligence purposes. But that’s exactly what the quadcopters were originally for, before they started attacking enemies. The fact that four-legged machines are already being developed as weapons around the world shows that it is only a matter of time before Ukraine starts using them in the same way. They already use remote controls
machine guns with video camera,
known as the “Scythe of Death”. If one was put on a four-legged robot, it would certainly put them one step ahead in the war with Russia.
At the moment, Ukraine’s main goal is to remove the maximum number of people from the front line and replace them with technology. The idea is thus to reduce human casualties and bring the conflict to an end. But what happens if fire continues to be returned with fire? And will we realize we’ve gone too far the moment robots start fighting robots in a war they don’t even understand?