A Sniper Rifle Has Been Strapped To An Unmanned Robodog—But Why?
Image via Ghost Robotics
In what looks like a pretty worrying development, a robodog has been given a sniper rifle, firmly strapped to its unsuspecting back, and the reason or purpose behind this is largely unknown.
According to gun manufacturer Sword International, the weapon is a Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle (SPUR). This, it writes, was “specifically designed to offer precision fire from unmanned platforms.” It’s able to operate in a “magnitude of conditions” and is “the future of unmanned weapon systems.”
The “latest lethality” innovation was shared on Twitter by Ghost Robotics, a military robot maker. The company specializes in Quadrupedal Unmanned Ground Vehicles, or Q-UGV for short. It describes them as “unstoppable,” and able to “get right back up from any slip, fall, or failure and keep moving.”
Latest lethality 6.5 #creedmoor sniper payload from @SWORDINT. Check out the latest partner payloads @AUSAorg Wash DC. Keeping US and allied #sof #warfighter equipped with the latest innovations. @USSOCOM #defense #defence #NationalSecurity #drone #robotics pic.twitter.com/Dvk6OvL3Bu
— Ghost Robotics (@Ghost_Robotics) October 11, 2021
This Q-UGV is the “unmanned platform” Sword International was referring to, and the host robodog the SPUR is fixed onto.
In theory, it sounds like a great invention in the context of defending humans, and other creatures of life, from an onslaught of attack. But if it’s the attacking party, it’ll be a whole other story.
Underneath the tweet, many users have expressed alarm at the very existence of this contraption. “Holy f**king scary s**t,” one writes. Another bluntly questions, “How many civilians per second [is] this designed to kill?”
Gross.
— its me T (@ByWhatMeasure) October 12, 2021
I don't want to live in this world, why are we building this world?
So you've done some fancy stepping to avoid saying the quiet part out loud.
— Fluffyfur3030 (@fluffyfur3030) October 12, 2021
Let me do it for you.
We created a soulless piece of hardware for brutal population suppression when the billionaires finally fear for their ill-gotten gains.
great news! this should vastly increase the efficiency and frequency of war crimes, and the best part is that you can't even hold a robot accountable!
— Taconic @ havana syndrome haver (@TaconicST) October 12, 2021
You've got to be scraping the bottom of the ethics barrel when you're working on these.
— Atari Amstradsen (@amstradsen) October 12, 2021
No other details about the robot have been provided, such as why it was developed and who wanted it created in the first place.
So yall saw 2 blade runners, a westworld show and movie , 10 terminator movies 2 Battlestar Galactica shows, irobot and still thought this was a good ideal smh we doomed
— Usopp conquerors confirmed (@EmperorWorf) October 12, 2021
[via Futurism, image via Ghost Robotics]
