Russia is working to have its fleet of remote-controlled robots that look like miniature remote-controlled cars but can spy on enemies.
In this digital spy era, spying on internet activities of others is not an eyebrows lifter anymore – at least not when it comes to Russia. I still remember the day when I first heard the term “hacker”, which admittedly, made me so damn curious.
I heard the term hackers with Russian being “Russian Hackers” – so as far as I am concerned, Russia is a big-old-gun when it comes to hacking and spying online.
But now Russia is going one step further; they are taking on Robot spying. Indeed, Robots are becoming a part of our world in a variety of ways. While some are attractive and eye-catching like Sophia and Erica; some are meant to be difficult to spot and identify others.
The kind of robots Russian scientists and students are preparing for the Russian National Guard fall in the latter category.
The group of scientists and students plan to provide the Russian National Guard with a fleet of remote-controlled robots for critical reconnaissance and espionage missions.
These robots will have the appearance of miniature remote-controlled cars but are far more than that. The robot will be able to infiltrate enemy borders undetected and send back crucial information to the one controlling it from the other side.
A spokesperson from the Academy of Military Sciences said in a statement for Russia Beyond that this robot will be able to perform many important operations.
The supported operations include reporting on a number of insurgents as well as enemy positions, and also, planting explosives. It is for this reason that people are referring to it as a mini-saboteur.
Under construction
The robot is still under development. As of now, it can be controlled from 200 meters away, but the team is looking to increase the range.
It is an upgrade on the KRMM-06 machine which is a six-wheel vehicle that moves at a speed of 5kmph, weighs 25kg when fully equipped, and is easy to carry in a backpack.
Upon further development, the mini-saboteurs will be able to cross treacherous terrains like crossing water bodies and climbing over objects.
The robots will be equipped with all the necessary hardware like thermal imagers, a wide range of sensors – as well as explosive charges weighing up to 1.5 kg as and when the need arises.
That is important when encountering minefields that have mines that cannot be moved or disabled. Setting a less powerful charge can blow those mines, which is where these robots can help the militia.
The robots are an upgrade to the KRMM-06 robots, which cost in the range of Euro 7,000. The cost for these robots is undecided.
It is also unclear as to how many of these robots will go into service for the Russian National Guard.
But this development shows that people are actively looking for robots and unmanned vehicles to perform critical ops missions in the military. Also, as Russia warned the USA not to snoop around their border – these robots will help them spy-back if no official settlement on the matters gets done.
