These achievements show that Russia has the potential to achieve autonomy and self-sufficiency in robotics, without relying on Western technologies and expertise.
In a conversation with Sputnik, Yevgeny Dudorov, Android Technics' general director, reveals the challenges and opportunities the country’s robotics pioneers face in designing and building robots for both military and civilian applications.
Marker Combat Robots
Marker robotic platform, which could play a significant role in countering UAVs, was developed by Android Technics and can be equipped with a range of weaponry, from Korney anti-tank missiles -- which are good in wiping out western Leopard-2 tanks -- to BAS-80 kamikaze swarms thay fly up to 30 kilometers.
The Markers have a modular multispectral vision system and reportedly use neural network algorithms for data processing. It is expected that Russian forces will soon be trained to operate these ground-based combat drones.
“The robot will operate autonomously, but under a person’s control. That is, the system will detect some object, receive information from a radar station, for example,” the company's general director Yevgeny Dudorov told Sputnik. From there, Marker independently focuses on the target and processes its trajectory far more quickly and effectively than is possible by the human eye or brain. This system is not fully autonomous, however, requiring the go-ahead from a human operator to fire.
Additionally, Russian developers are currently testing a prototype of a remote-controlled truck that will be used on the front lines to deliver ammunition, supplies, and evacuate the wounded.
How Robots Come in Handy in Combat Zone
In Ukraine, NATO has deployed top-notch UAVs and anti-drone defense systems against Russia. Some Western media outlets have described the conflict as a "testing ground" for new weapons, such as drones.
Over the past year, Russia has caught up with the Western alliance in military UAV technology, increasing the production of kamikaze drone designs and long-range reconnaissance UAVs. British military intelligence attributed the success of Russia's deep missile strike campaigns against Ukrainian military infrastructure to these UAVs.
“I would say that there are two main directions for progress," Dudorov told Sputnik.
The first is humanity’s laziness – the desire to invent something new to work less, move less and receive more amenities.
The second engine of progress is warfare, because both sides in a conflict attempt to resolve things in their favor, and immediately start to mobilize all those forces, all those ideas that they have – leading to a kind of permanent brainstorming effect.
“People begin to think things up, create, test, receive feedback, make adjustments and go through it all again,” Dudorov said.
In addition to creating robots for military and space purposes, Android Technics has also developed robots for more practical uses, such as assisting individuals with disabilities through robotic wheelchairs, designing manipulator robot arms, creating medical systems to aid in restoring physical mobility, and producing a series of modular electric motors for AT and AX drives.