The french army is testing Boston Dynamics’ robot dog Spot in combat scenarios

The quadruped robot built by US firm Boston Dynamic has appeared alongside soldiers during military exercises carried out by the French army. The robot was apparently being used for reconnaissance during a two-day training exercise, but the development raises questions about how and where Boston Dynamics’ machine will be used in the future.

Boston Dynamics’ vice president of business development Michael Perry told that the robot had been supplied by a European distributor, Shark Robotics and that the US firm had not been notified in advance about its use. ”We’re learning about it as you are,” says Perry ”We’re not clear on the exact scope of this engagement.”

During the two-day deployment, soldiers run a number of scenarios, including an offensive action capturing a crossroads, defensive actions during night and day, and an urban combat test. Each scenario was performed using just humans and then using humans and robots together to see what difference the machines made.

Despite worries from researchers and advocates, militaries around the world are increasingly pushing robots onto the battlefield Remotely operated drones have been the most significant deployment to date, but other use cases- including robots that can scout, survey, and patrol- are also being tested. Robotic quadrupeds similar to Spot built by rivals firm Ghost Robotics are currently being tested by the US Air Force as a replacement for stationary surveillance cameras. If robots prove reliable as roaming CCTV, it’s only a matter of time before those capabilities are introduced to active combat zones