By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
India is joining the US and China in unleashing the dogs of war – robotic ones.
According to the news site The Print, the Indian army is set to take delivery 25 robotic dogs that will be used for surveillance and to carry loads through steep terrain. The dogs are actually known as MULES (Multi-Utility Legged Equipment) and the army has ordered 100 of them.
Sources told The Print the robots are come with thermal cameras and other sensors. They can also be equipped with small arms, meaning a unit could engage the enemy without putting any lives at risk.
Last year, the military ordered the robotic dogs under an emergency procurement order. If the army is happy with the first batch of robots, it is likely to order a second, larger batch.
The canine is just one of the robots being developed under the auspices of India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Several years ago, there were media reports about a Robot Sentry which could be used for surveillance in urban areas. DRDO also is said to be working on a 14-jointed snake robot capable of “lateral undulation, side winding and rolling gaits.”
India also uses an unexploded ordnance handling robot (UXOR) to detect and diffuse bombs and other explosives. Several years ago, the army announced it as procuring vehicles called robotics surveillance platforms to help battle terrorists.
Still, it’s the canine version that seems to draw much of the attention.
The archetype of the robot dog was built by US-based Boston Dynamics, which named its creation “Spot.” The Massachusetts State Police and the Los Angeles Police Department were among its early adopters.
Former Army Futures Command Commander, Ret. Gen. John Murray
Earlier this year, the Marine Corps Special Operations Command tested a new breed of robot dogs, this one built by Ghost Robotics. (Vision 60 Swamp Dog Q-UGV: Tyndall AFB 24×7 Perimeter Autonomous Patrol – YouTube) It’s called the Vision 60 quadrupedal Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) and come equipped with artificial intelligence-enabled rifles.
The robot uses Onyx Industries’ SENTRY remote weapons system, which can detect and track people, drones and vehicles.( SENTRY Remote Weapon System (RWS) – Persistent Systems’ RDC Integration (youtube.com)) But it can’t shoot autonomously – a human operator, located anywhere in the world, is in control of firing decisions.
And it’s not just small arms that are being tested with four-legged robots. Last fall, Marines tested a UGV known as the “robotic goat” and equipped it with an M72 Light Anti-Tank Weapon.
“Instead of having a Marine handle the weapon system, manipulate the safeties, we could put a remote trigger mechanism on it that allowed it to all be done remotely, “said 1st Lt. Aaron Safadi of the Tactical Training and Exercise Control Group. “The Marine could manipulate the safeties from a safe place while allowing that weapon system to get closer to its target.”
In May, China conducted exercises with Cambodian forces using its own robot dogs. Some of the robots were equipped with automatic rifles, but the Chinese kept their firing skills under wraps. Instead, the public demonstration of the robodogs was limited to showing their mobility.
China also displayed a version that could identify targets by transmitting video in real-time to soldiers in the rear.
