Who let the death-dealing drone dogs out? Apparently, some guy in Russia did.
Folks online were hitting the panic button this week, when a video of a dog-like robot, with a gun strapped to its back, began circulating.
You can see “Fido” shoot, carrying a submachine gun while doing some target practice. It looks like a Boston Dynamics robot, but it’s a less expensive, consumer model.
Vice News is reporting a Russian businessman decided to create the death dog essentially as a backyard project. It’s amazing what you can get online these days.
But, make no mistake, robotic dogs are being used in warzones.
In June, the U.S. military gave Ukraine two robotic dogs to help clear mines and other munitions. The Boston Dynamics robotic dogs will be used by HALO Trust, a company with experience clearing landmines and other explosives. HALO Trust will use the robots to remove mortar shells and cluster munitions from former Russian-controlled areas.
The U.S. military also uses Ghost Robotics’ version of a quad-legged unmanned ground vehicle or Q-UGV. One of the features of this breed of robot is a top-mounted sniper rifle.
The war in Ukraine has brought people first-hand accounts of drones in combat. The U.S. Air Force has used drones for years. The Army and Navy also employ robotics. But there are still humans controlling them.
Drones haven’t replaced pilots, either, as many believed would happen 20 years ago. Jon Norman is a vice president at Raytheon Technologies Corp.’s missile and defense business. He said it’s a safe bet that a pilot could soon have a drone-wingman.
In future battles, AI might allow a pilot to send an armed drone close to an enemy position “and have them just fire at will,” Norman said.
Back to the video of the Russian death dog. While the craftsmanship and precision of the robot might pale in comparison to a military-grade Q-UGV, the idea of some person buying a robot online and strapping a machine gun to its back, well, it’s obviously not just an “idea” anymore.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
