Killer robot dogs that are controlled by soldiers’ MINDS are trialed by Australian army
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Man’s worst enemy: killer robot dogs controlled by soldiers’ MINDS face trial by the Australian military
Soldiers mindfully controlling a robotic dog as they patrol a dusty road and sweep a derelict building may sound like science fiction, but it’s the scene in a real-world demonstration.
The Australian military has perfected mind control with eight sensors packed neatly into a helmet and working together with a Microsoft HoloLens.
The innovation includes an AI decoder that translates a soldier’s brain signals into explainable instructions that are sent to the robotic four-legged friend, helping people stay focused on their surroundings.
A new video shows military personnel conducting a simulated patrol eviction using the robot dog, which was tasked with sweeping a facility using what it read from a person’s brain waves — and with 94 percent accuracy .
The Australian military has unveiled an update to its mind-controlling system that powers robot dogs on the battlefield
The system was developed by the University of Technology Sydney, which first unveiled the innovation last year but recently published a new paper detailing the work.
The user used our augmented brain-robot interface (aBRI) platform to control the robotic systems. paper published by American Chemical Society on March 16.
“The aBRI platform allows the user to interact with machines/robots in more natural forms, which is better than the conventional brain-computer interface (BCI) application setup that requires users to remain stationary.”
Researchers described that the aBRI platform has four main components: devices for interfaces, a mobile electroencephalogram (EEG) system, a single board computer and a robotic system.’
The earlier work, announced last year, demonstrated the technology that collects EEG signals “from the frontal region of the head using non-invasive epitaxial graphene (EG) sensors on silicon carbide (SiC) on silicon with a surface without cartridge’.
The recent update showed the value of brain-machine interfaces that perceive instructions from the occipital lobe, responsible for visual perception such as color, shape and movement.
The human controller only has to imagine the direction they want the robot to move and the machine follows.
The technology allows soldiers to operate the robots hands-free, which is ideal for combat.
The recent update showed the value of brain-machine interfaces that perceive instructions from the occipital lobe, responsible for visual perception such as color, shape and movement
It features eight sensors neatly packed into a helmet that sits on the back of the head and works in tandem with a Microsoft HoloLens
Sergeant Damian Robinson of the 5th Combat Service Support Battalion, who tested the HoloLens headset, said in a statement, “The whole process isn’t hard to master. It’s very intuitive. It only took a few sessions.
‘It’s more a matter of visual concentration.
“You don’t have to think anything specific to operate the robot, but you do have to concentrate on that flicker.”
The flicker is a beacon in the HoloLens headsets that act as markers for the robot dog to move to and keep it on course.
‘The potential of the project is very broad,’ says Robinson.
“At its core, it translates brain waves into zeros and ones, and that can be implemented in a number of different systems.”