Watch robot dog and drone locked in fierce battle -- blasting fireworks at each other in future warfare demo [View all]

A viral video captured in an unknown location and widely shared on social media in China shows a robotic dog and a drone firing fireworks at each other.

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). 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.

https://www.livescience.com/technology/robotics/watch-robot-dog-and-drone-locked-in-fierce-battle-blasting-fireworks-at-each-other-in-future-warfare-demo


One of the comments I have to agree with:
"Really sad the way technology is changing the future. War is avoided because it causes the loss of human life. But if we have robots fighting robots then will wars continue forever? Will wars lose their meaning because the only loss is metal?"