If you thought ChatGTP and Bing’s rogue AI chat boxes were dystopian, check out China’s Robot Dogs mounted with a machine gun that can be dropped on location using a drone - and they're certainly not the only country unleashing the hounds.
We're living in a Black Mirror ‘Metalhead’ episode. Quad-legged Unmanned Ground Vehicles (Q-UGVs) can crouch, creep into shallow spaces, and patrol remote areas - and they don’t need to be rewarded with a biscuit. Here’s how Robot Dogs are already creeping up on us.
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If you thought ChatGTP and Bing’s rogue AI chat boxes were dystopian, check out China’s Robot Dogs mounted with a machine gun that can be dropped on location using a drone - and they're certainly not the only country unleashing the hounds.
We're living in a Black Mirror ‘Metalhead’ episode. Quad-legged Unmanned Ground Vehicles (Q-UGVs) can crouch, creep into shallow spaces, and patrol remote areas - and they don’t need to be rewarded with a biscuit. Here’s how Robot Dogs are already creeping up on us.
When the NYPD began training Digidog for law enforcement, police bragged that the robot could see in the dark - which is precisely what had New Yorkers freaking out. Digidog, a 70-pound robotic dog with a camera and lights affixed to its frame, was supposed to investigate potentially dangerous situations like sniffing out suspected explosive devices. But New Yorkers saw Digidog as a dystopian example of overly aggressive policing and cited privacy concerns. The NYPD sent Digidog back to the pound at the tech company who created it, Boston Dynamics, its trial run cut short.
Spot the firefighter
Firefighters and Dalmatians have long been buddies but the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) has a new four-legged friend. The FDNY adopted two Robot Dogs named Spot in 2022 to help with search-and-rescue missions. Spot can gather images and intel, including measuring chemical and gas concentrations. The Robot Dogs - which come with a price tag of $75,000 each - can also descend deep underground to collect data about dangerous debris or enter burning buildings. FDNY is the first US fire department to recruit Boston Dynamics dogs, who may yet prove to be man’s (second) best friend.
Firefighting is one thing, but a dog that reminds people about social distancing during pandemic warnings? Some Singaporeans were less than impressed when ‘Spot’ was unleashed to patrol public parks during the Covid-19 pandemic and enforce social distancing rules. "Please stand at least one meter apart,” Spot barked at those wandering around the park on a sunny - and otherwise pleasant - day out. China deployed Robot Dogs on similar missions, adding a loudspeaker for good measure. ”Wear a mask”, Spot warned. “Wash hands frequently.”
Aim high... Sniff, Fight, Win
The US Air Force is testing their own Robot Dog, Vision 60 (surely it has a nickname?) for base security. V6 has sensors and cameras to detect intruders and can be remotely controlled by humans. It can also be used for surveillance and reconnaissance. Ghost Robotics says it can walk, run, crawl, climb - and, eventually, will even be able to swim.
Westworld: When Robot Dogs malfunction
Robot Dogs don’t always work as intended. In 2015, a Robot Dog carrying out decommissioning work at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant stalled in a damaged reactor just hours into its mission and had to be abandoned. The robot was supposed to function for up to 10 hours even when exposed to radiation. The incident raised questions about reliability but it is too early to give up on the tech designed by Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy and the International Research Institute for Nuclear Decommissioning. The ‘transformer’ robots can record radiation levels and temperatures, and even alter their shapes.
Robot Dogs: from the cradle to the grave
So far, we’ve seen robots work as bartenders, cheerleaders, and nurses, and even taking a spin as a rickshaw driver. London's Heathrow Airport is reportedly using a Robot Dog named 'Dave' to help with security, where Dave's ability to open doors, drag objects, and inspect dangerous areas is proving helpful.
As one YouTube user, TiMaTi, said: “This robot can even dig you a grave in case you're not needed anymore.”
Robot Dogs & AI
A University of California, Berkeley Robot Dog taught itself to walk within an hour using AI, researchers reported in 2022. It only took 60 minutes for the Robot Dog to flip itself from its back - legs waving like a beetle - to stand up and start walking. The Robot Dog then learned how to withstand and recover from being pushed around by its handlers within 10 minutes of being harassed with a roll of cardboard.
A Ghost Robotics quadruped robot using a novel brain-computer interface
Just when you thought Robot Dogs couldn’t get any creepier…
Australian soldiers are testing a system that allows them to send a Robot Dog to a location using brain waves. The experiment uses the commander’s power of concentration combined with technology that connects waypoints flickered on an augmented reality lens with biosensor-detecting brain waves from the commander’s visual cortex. The whole process is not difficult to learn. It only took a couple of sessions before the soldiers mastered it, proving you really can teach an old dog new tricks.
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