Looking like something out of the Terminator films, a video of a Russian robotic dog with a submachine gun strapped to its back is putting the chilling fear of a dystopian future into people and has the Internet freaking out!
Terminator-like robotic dog is the stuff of dystopian nightmares
A day after Russia accused the United States and Ukraine of collaborating to create mutant, hybrid super-soldiers, a Russian inventor posted a terrifying video online showing his robotic dog that seems straight out of Terminator or Robocop.
The video was uploaded by Alexander Atamanov, the founder of a Russian hoverbike company, the Daily Mail reported.
A number of other people online said the video was chillingly reminiscent of an episode from the series Black Mirror which features an incredibly persistent robotic dog, as seen in the episode “Metalhead.”
However, even more terrifying is that this Russian video isn’t Hollywood special effects magic. There is a real robot dog with a submachine gun on its back tout there. It’s the thing dystopian nightmares are made of.
Inventor compares robot to Skynet
Atamov first posted a photo of the futuristic weapon on Facebook back in March and referred to his creation as “Skynet,” making a connection with the Terminator films. Skynet is the name of the fictional artificial neural network that achieves self-awareness, preventing humans from deactivating it. The network takes over control of the world, forcing humans to go back in time to try to stop Skynet from being created.
Dog is a modified Chinese-made robot using a Russian-made weapon
Atamanov is using a Chinese-made UnitreeYushu dogbot that retails online for about $3,000. He equipped this dogbot with a submachine gun. According to reports, the weapon most likely is a PP-19 Vityaz, a type of submachine gun that’s based on the AK-47 design.
Linked to Russian military?
Cybernews pointed out that the robot has patches with an insignia associated with the Russian military. There is a Russian flag on one side and what seems to be a wolf, which is used by Russian special forces.
US has robotic dogs that patrol the border
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is already testing robotic patrol dogs along the US-Mexico border. The goal of the program is to help reinforce the Customs and Border Patrol (CPB) presence, while reducing human exposure to life-threatening hazards.
These robots are capable of operating on land and in water, as this video by The Damage Report shows.
“The southern border can be an inhospitable place for man and beast, and that is exactly why a machine may excel there,” said Brenda Long, program manager with the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). “This S&T-led initiative focuses on Automated Ground Surveillance Vehicles, or what we call ‘AGSVs.’ Essentially, the AGSV program is all about…robot dogs.”
Other companies create robotic dogs as weapons
One of the leading robotic companies in the US, Boston Dynamics, said they will not sell their robot dogs to people who intend to use them as a weapon, according to Unilad.
However, other companies have no problem with it. SWORD International and Ghost Robotics unveiled their weapon in October last year.
