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Animals and dogs in particular have assisted humans in battle for centuries. Recently, Ukraine has introduced a robotic dog that will soon be integrated into battle, keeping both soldiers and animals safe when performing high-risk tasks, and assisting with current manpower shortages.
The robot, named the “BAD One” has multiple advantages. It is agile and can answer commands such as standing, crouching, running, and jumping, as reported by AFP and Interesting Engineering. Its low height allows it to roam with a lower risk of getting noticed, and it has thermal imaging capabilities to better detect enemy forces. It has a battery life of approx. two hours, it can detect improvised explosives and hidden mines and can carry up to 7 kilograms of weight, useful for various purposes in the battlefield that require transportation of equipment from one part to another.
“BAD One” can skillfully perform reconnaissance missions, but if it happens to fall into enemy hands, the operator can swiftly erase all data stored on it via an emergency switch.
According to Interesting Engineering, Ukrainian forces say that the exact number of robots that will be deployed can’t be disclosed, but they believe it should give them a significant operational advantage as well as minimize the risk of life, which is the main priority for the implementation of this plan.
A more advanced model of the robot dog, called “BAD Two” has already been developed by the undisclosed British company that supplied “BAD One” to Ukraine, but it was not demonstrated for security purposes.
This is not the only instance in which robot dogs have been considered a possible resource for battle. Just this month there was a drill conducted by the US Army involving robot dogs, testing them for many different purposes, such as holding a rifle, protecting from adversary drones, and conducting patrols to protect the base’s parameters.
