A video depicting a robot dog in the Boston Dynamics style seen firing a submachine rifle into targets over a snowy backdrop first went viral on Twitter on Thursday, July 21.
According to Vice, this particular kind of robot dog is well-known for dancing, but it now seems to have lived up to every cautionary tale issued by experts about robots since the dog is armed with a gun.
Where Did The Robot Dog Come From?
The robotic dog doesn't appear to be able to control the gun's recoil properly. The dog must take some time to regain its balance after the dog fires its bullets, causing the barrel to trail up. Also unknown is whether the dog is firing on its own or whether someone is pulling a remote trigger off the camera.
According to Vice, the robot differs significantly from Boston Dynamics' Spot in terms of its feet, ports, and front. Numerous imitations of the Boston Dynamics dog are available on the global market. The technological dog in the video looks to be a UnitreeYusu, which costs around $3,000 and is available on AliExpress.
On either of the robot's flanks, there are Velcro strips as well. A Russian flag is displayed on the left flank, while a wolf's head is seen on the other.
An identical patch is shown on a man's arm in another video on the channel, which looks to be an emblem resembling the wolf's head used by Russian Spetsnaz or Special Operations Forces, as noted by Vice.
However, it must be noted that this does not imply that Spetsnaz has armed robot dogs since anyone can purchase a patch with a similar design online.
Vice claimed that the firearm is Russian, which looks like an AK-74-inspired submachine gun called a PP-19 Vityaz. The dog roams and fires, occasionally moving in front of an armored personnel carrier with a distinctive triangle door.
Vice said that this is also Russian, an armored vehicle called BDRM 2 that has lately been seen in Ukraine.
The Man Behind The Robot Dog
The dog's video was first uploaded on Alexander Atamov's YouTube account on March 22, before it was shared on Twitter. Atamov is identified as the creator of "HOVERSURF" on his LinkedIn profile, and he is identified as a Moscow resident on his Facebook page.
On March 21, he published a picture of the robotic dog. Facebook translated his post to say that he called the dog "Skynet."
Boston Dynamics clarified that it would not sell its robots to anybody that wants to use them as weapons.
Police in Hawaii employed these robotic dogs to take the temperatures of the state's homeless population during the pandemic, while the NYPD also tasked them to patrol apartment buildings. But they have never been used to mount a gun on their backs.
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
