Dramatic footage has captured an intense battle between a robotic dog and an aerial drone as the two shoot fireworks at each other. The clash could be a glimpse into the future of warfare, although we are decades away from scenes like those in the video, an expert said.
The footage shows the drone and the dog facing off in a barren field. The drone hovers mid-air, its four propellers occasionally maneuvering the aircraft away from the dog’s line of fire. Meanwhile, the dog discharges one firework after another in the direction of the drone, moving from side to side to adjust the angle of the shot.
Organizers mounted fireworks onto the back of the dog, which maneuvered itself to fire at the drone while simultaneously dodging pyrotechnics coming from the drone’s landing gear. It’s unclear from the footage whether either the dog or the drone were autonomous or remotely controlled, although it does appear that one of the people in the video may be flying the drone.
The video was posted on Chinese social media and sparked discussions about the future of warfare, according to the Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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It is possible that we might have robot wars in the future, and some experts argue that we already do, Missy Cummings, a professor of engineering at George Mason University in Virginia and director of Mason’s Autonomy and Robotics Center, told Live Science in an email.
Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies have made it possible to build robots and drones that can hunt down and shoot targets with no human input. Governments around the world, including the U.S. administration, are increasingly incorporating AI into weapons and battlefield decision-making.
“Surface-to-air missiles are highly automated ground-based systems and they already shoot at drones,” Cummings said. “But we are decades from anything like the video and even if that were a reality, all you would have to do is drop baby powder on all the robots and they would not be able to ‘see,'” she said.
According to SCMP, the drone in the video is likely a model manufactured by DJI Agricultural, a Chinese company that designs drones for agricultural uses, such as spraying pesticides. The robotic dog is made by Chinese company Unitree Robotics, according to the newspaper.
The location where the video was taken is unknown, according to SCMP, but several people appear in the clip while the drone and dog are locked in battle.
It’s unclear from the end of the footage which machine prevailed. Both finish side by side on the ground, the robot dog having seemingly run out of ammunition and the drone still firing shots away from the dog.
