A San Francisco-based robotics company named 'Foundation' has revealed that its humanoid robots, called Phantom MK-1, have been sent to Ukraine for battlefield testing, marking what could be a historic moment in military technology. While Phantom robots are already being tested in factories worldwide, this appears to be the first known time a humanoid robot has been deployed in an active war zone.
Humanoid robots could become a natural evolution of existing military technologies such as autonomous drones. Instead of risking human lives, robots could handle dangerous missions on the battlefield. In the future, large numbers of humanoid robots could act as a kind of military deterrent, similar to nuclear weapons.
‘Foundation’ already has research contracts worth a combined $24 million with the US Army, Navy and Air Force, including what's known as an SBIR Phase 3, effectively making it an approved military vendor. It's also due to begin tests with the Marine Corps “methods of entry” course, training Phantoms to put explosives on doors to help troops breach sites more safely.
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