US Army Arms Robot Dog with Mounted Rifles

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The US Army is reportedly considering arming a robot dog with its next-generation rifle, and so create a weapons support platform that can traverse various terrains. The robot is called Q-UGV and is fitted with a sophisticated suite of sensors for surveillance and other support roles for the Army.

Janes reported that the US military is considering integrating the robot with the Sig Sauer XM7 Rifle. This is not the first attempt of this kind, but with the Sig Sauer XM7 rifle, it would be a new development in exploring the capabilities of unmanned robots that mimic dogs’ abilities.

Bhavanjot Singh, senior scientific technical manager for autonomy and automation for armaments systems at DEVCOM, told Janes “The unique capability of the dog is the ability to traverse different types of terrain that wheeled vehicles may not be able to go.”

According to Interesting Engineering, Ghost Robotics showcased the Vision 60 at an Army trade show in Washington, DC in 2021. The four-legged robo-dog was designed with the capability to attach a rifle with a 10-round capacity and strike targets up to three-quarters of a mile away. Despite not being autonomous and requiring a human operator to control and fire the rifle remotely, the Vision 60 is a promising development in robotics.

DEVCOM representative Tim Ryder stated that Army Futures Command is still researching implementing human-machine integration and emphasized that creating a prototype does not necessarily imply that the robot dogs will be utilized in combat situations.

Chief of GCSC dismounted robotics system branch Milot Resyli said “These legged platforms have some promises which we’ve identified, primarily from a mobility standpoint,” but reiterated that there are limitations to them “as well from an endurance [perspective], as well as the payload capability and power of how much they can support.”