Robot dog outfitted with machine gun in Russia brings us closer to real-life ‘Black Mirror’
By Jane Nam
A robot dog modified to include a machine gun on the top half of its body has captured the attention of the internet with its sophisticated design resembling something out of a sci-fi thriller.
As shown in the video, which has garnered over 7.3 million views on Twitter, a silver-colored robot dog runs along a firing range as it opens fire on various targets.
The gunfire is scarily powerful, with bullets coming out in short, sharp staccatos. Despite the snowy terrain, the robot dog is able to move around fairly quickly.
On July 17, NowThis News released a clip of Boston Dynamic’s 5-feet-tall, 190-pound “humanoid robot” named Atlas running and leaping over obstacles, causing many netizens to connect the robot dog to the U.S. company’s designs.
While the author of the Twitter post, @sonicmega, also references the “Funny Dancing Robot Dogs” made by U.S. company Boston Dynamics, other users noted that the design closely resembles that of China’s Unitree Robots.
According to Cybernews, Sophos Senior Threat Researcher Sean Gallagher likens the model seen in the video to the Hangzhou-based company and its Go1 robot dog model, which retails for around $3,000.
When one user claimed the robot to be fake, one netizen responded by tracing the video back to the original post in March by Russian businessman Alexander Atamanov, the founder of a hoverbike company.
The clip of the robot dog appears to have been taken in Russia, as its left flank bears the Russian flag and the other side a wolf’s head, which is an insignia commonly used by the Russian Special Operations Forces.
A parked armored vehicle seen in the video can be identified by its distinct triangular door as a BRDM-2, which has been recently spotted in Ukraine.
Featured Image via Alexander Atamanov
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