During my recent visit to Australia I had the privilege to spot a dog-like quadruped unmanned ground vehicle (Q-UGV). Unfortunately the images does not reflect the attention and interest the robot received on the day. I managed to take a few images and a short video of the O-UGV before it was "swamped" by the bystanders.
Q-UGVs can be equipped with a wide variety of optical and acoustic sensors, enabling them to serve as automated "eyes and ears" around sensitive installations. The robots can be operated either autonomously or by a human controller and can even respond to voice commands. They can be used for security patrols and other repetitive tasks.
The dog-like robots can also serve as miniaturized communications nodes, carrying antennas to quickly extend networks beyond existing infrastructure or in locations where no such infrastructure exists.
The robots have been previously tested by the U.S. Air Force for perimeter defense tasks and as part of a large test of the service's Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) data-sharing network. In that 2020 test, robot dogs at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada "provided real-time strike targeting data to USAF operators" in Florida using Starlink satellite links, then-CEO of Ghost Robotics Jiren Parikh told The War Zone.
The Q-UGVs are designed to withstand water and weather, and were recently demonstrated with a tail-like payload enabling them to travel underwater.
Aside from their military applications, the robot dogs can also be used in emergency management/communications, public safety and industrial inspection and is currently used by SpaceX for various tasks.
Imagine if we could have such a robot in South Africa fitted with an amateur radio payload. (VHF/UHF repeater, mesh node, Echolink, AllStar etc.) Just a dream? Definitely not! Buying one would be to expensive but what about a DIY/Homebrew version? Made in South Africa!
Images: A Quadruped Unmanned Ground Vehicle (Q-UGV) is operated during a demo in Australia.
