The Australian military is reportedly testing a revolutionary artificial intelligence technology that enables soldiers to control robotic dogs or “robodogs” using their minds which are synced with the trooper’s minds.
This groundbreaking AI technology known as the brain robotic interface utilizes an advanced digital biosensor headset to analyze brainwave patterns and transmit them directly from the visual cortex of an individual into the advanced “robodog”.
This revolutionary technology enables soldiers to operate these robotic canines through advanced digital “telepathy”.
The Robodog uses a hybrid system created with a HoloLens 2 headset that is widely available and a custom Raspberry Pi-based AI decoder.
This innovative and specially programmed AI decoder captures brain waves and translates them into useful commands, which are then “telepathically” transmitted to control the robot dog.
Over the past three years, the University of Technology Sydney and the army’s Robotic and Autonomous Implementation and Coordination Office (RICO) collaborated to develop this technology which received a significant boost from a $1.2 million military investment.
According to 5th Combat Service Support Battalion Sergeant Damian Robinson, who tried out the HoloLens headset, mastering the entire process is relatively easy and intuitive. It only took him a few sessions to get the hang of it.
Robinson and his fellow soldiers underwent training using mind-reading headsets and robodogs enabling them to navigate difficult terrain and adverse weather conditions on a simulated battlefield with great success.
Sergeant Robinson explained that RICO is a department that falls under the Future Land Warfare Branch and it collaborates closely with industry partners and stakeholders. He also mentioned that the technology involves visual concentration more than anything else.
To operate the robotic dogs, “You don’t have to think anything specific to operate the robot, but you do need to focus on that flicker”.
The flickering beacons which appear as augmented reality in the headsets serve as markers that guide the robot dogs these beacons are crucial to keeping the robotic canines on course.
According to Robinson, the project has wide-ranging potential as its fundamental purpose is to convert brain waves into binary code which can be integrated into numerous systems.
By simply imagining specific locations the human controller’s brain signals directed the Ghost Robot to navigate towards those locations across an open field.
Following a series of tests in which the robot dog flawlessly understood and executed commands. The robot dog and human soldiers worked together effectively to clear multiple buildings, once again demonstrating the successful collaboration between the canine robots and their human counterparts.
The collaborative project involved contributions from the University of Technology, Sydney, the Defense Innovation Hub, and the Defense Science and Technology Group with participation from the Future Land Warfare Branch and RICO.
“Through this collaboration, we are testing the realm of possibilities that will ensure we are #FutureReady.”
