Gone are the days when dogs were only cute. China and the US are now using robot dogs to literally go on the warpath.
The dog, better known as man’s best friend, we usually know as a cute and furry animal. But both China and the US now see potential to use our faithful four-legged friend as a weapon as well. In fact, the robot dog is their newest addition for military purposes.
According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, the robot dog can be used in urban combat operations. It can replace human team members by conducting reconnaissance, identifying the enemy and attacking targets.
China and the U.S. are using this robot dog in the military
Military use of robot dogs is actually nothing new. A CCTV video from last year showed China testing its electronic quadrupeds during an exercise with six other countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in China.
In 2020, the U.S. Air Force showed how it used robotic dogs as part of its Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), which uses AI and rapid data analysis to detect and address threats to the U.S. military.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, drones have also been increasingly seen on the battlefield, on land, at sea and in the air. The inexpensive, remote-controlled gadgets can take out sophisticated military machines such as tanks and warships.
They can play a major role in waging war. Even for armed forces with limited budgets. As a result, they can easily compete with heavily armed enemies.
Animals are proving popular
Robot dogs are getting a lot of attention in China’s People’s Liberation Army. For example, the quadrupeds have been featured on China’s closely guarded social media for at least a year. And there they are proving very popular as well.
Fortunately, there are also robot dogs that are a bit more innocuous. Boston Dynamics’ robot dogs, for example, are designed to assist in rescue missions and to dance, run and jump. Although the quadruped is currently controlled by a remote control, in the future it will be able to think for itself. You can read exactly how that works in the article below:
