The subject of killer robots regularly comes to the fore. A video, widely circulated on social networks, shows a robot equipped with a rifle. The robot, which resembles Spot – Boston Dynamics’ robot dog – is equipped with a machine gun and shoots targets in a snowy landscape. Videos of Boston Dynamics robots doing dances and stunts seem a long way off.
Fortunately, the robot doesn’t seem to be very good at aiming or dealing with the weapon’s recoil. On the video it is not possible to know if the robot shoots itself or if it is a person, outside the field of the camera, who starts the shot. Even if this second option seems more probable. If on the video the robot does not seem to be able to do many things with its gun on its back, it is a good reminder that these systems can be used for questionable purposes such as killing people or waging war.
All the people who laughed off the “worrywarts” years ago for freaking out regarding the Funny Dancing Robot Dogs ™ should be forced to watch this video once a day for the remainder of the year. pic.twitter.com/WBIrlGah3w
— Sean Chiplock (@sonicmega) July 20, 2022
A Russian robot gunner
The robot dog in the video appears to be a UnitreeYusu product sold on AliExpress for around $3,000, reports Vice. But they are not the only ones to market copies of the famous Boston Dynamics robot. Logos are attached to the sides of the robot: on one side a Russian flag and on the other a wolf’s head. Vice adds that in another video from the channel that aired this one, a man wears a similar badge on his arm. This wolf head is usually a reference to Russian special operations forces or Spetsnaz.
But, adds Vice, this does not mean that the special forces use this robot since the badge can very easily be bought by anyone. Furthermore, the weapon is also Russian since it is probably a Vityaz-SN (or PP-19 Vityaz), a submachine gun inspired by the AK-74. Finally, the vehicle seen in the video is a Russian BRDM-2 armored vehicle. A last element is mentioned by Vice: the video was first published at the end of March on the YouTube account of Alexandre Atamov who would be the founder of “HOVERSURF”.
What regulations?
Beyond knowing who posted this video, this is an opportunity to once once more open the debate on “killer robots” and lethal autonomous weapons. Boston Dynamics, which was acquired by Hyundai, said it does not want to sell its robots to people who want to use them as weapons. But Spot was spotted in training with the French soldiers and he came to fill the ranks of the New York police (NYPD) who finally got rid of him on the plate.
Faced with the opposition of certain countries, the UN fails to regulate the use of lethal autonomous weapons commonly defined as weapons which select their target by themselves and destroy it. Without human intervention. It should be remembered that the military industry generally benefits from significant means of funding for R&D. Many innovations come from the military before being deployed in civilian life.
