Uploaded December 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In the summer of 2022, a video circulated that appeared to depict a four-legged dog-like robot firing an automatic weapon at non-human targets. This modification of an existing Unitree dogbot terrified many, who feared that artificial intelligence had developed the ability to wage modern warfare.
To the immense relief of some, the viral video was found to be a mock-up by a Russian hoverbike developer named Alexander Atamanov.
However, the shocking truth is that - whilst the machine depicted in the popular video was just a digital representation of what an armed dogbot may look like - such machines do in fact exist.
Quadrupedal robots have surged in popularity over the last few years due to several significant advancements made by development companies such as Boston Dynamics.
These nimble machines are compact and agile and are capable of traversing terrain, which would stop a wheeled robot in its tracks.
Dogbots have also demonstrated impressive counterbalancing abilities, potentially enabling them to compensate for the recoil of heavy weaponry. Reliable reports state that the US and French armies have already carried out a number of tests on quadrupedal robots in a battlefield context...
In the summer of 2022, a video circulated that appeared to depict a four-legged dog-like robot firing an automatic weapon at non-human targets. This modification of an existing Unitree dogbot terrified many, who feared that artificial intelligence had developed the ability to wage modern warfare.
To the immense relief of some, the viral video was found to be a mock-up by a Russian hoverbike developer named Alexander Atamanov.
However, the shocking truth is that - whilst the machine depicted in the popular video was just a digital representation of what an armed dogbot may look like - such machines do in fact exist.
Quadrupedal robots have surged in popularity over the last few years due to several significant advancements made by development companies such as Boston Dynamics.
These nimble machines are compact and agile and are capable of traversing terrain, which would stop a wheeled robot in its tracks.
Dogbots have also demonstrated impressive counterbalancing abilities, potentially enabling them to compensate for the recoil of heavy weaponry. Reliable reports state that the US and French armies have already carried out a number of tests on quadrupedal robots in a battlefield context...
