‘Warfighters best friend:’ Robot dog with rifle unveiled at US Army trade show

A robot dog armed with a rifle was unveiled at the annual Association of the US Army show in Washington, DC, according to US media reports.

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The robot dog was made by the Philadelphia-based Ghost Robotics, which develops robotics and ground drones for the military, homeland security and enterprise markets.

Dubbed “warfighters best friend,” the robot is equipped with a SPUR (Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle) manufactured by SWORD (Special Warfare Operations Research Development).

According to science and technology magazine New Scientist, Ghost Robotics has been developing quadruped robots since 2015. The robots are highly mobile, able to cross rugged terrain that might be difficult for wheeled and tracked machines.

Ghost Robotics said the robot dog is fully controlled by a remote operator, in line with Pentagon policy which states that all robotic weapons should be under the control of a human operator.

The magazine reported that Ghost Robotics said the robot was chosen by customers for “its ability to move in difficult terrain, allowing it to take up a suitable firing position for sniper shots.”

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