Credits ESM Saint Cyr Coetquidan Will the armed conflicts of tomorrow see robots clash? After the American army, it is the turn of the French army to train alongside the autonomous machines of Boston Dynamics. A somewhat particular exercise carried out on March 30 and 31 by the Saint-Cyr special military school (ESM) in Yvelines. In a tweet shared by the establishment, we were indeed able to discover the apprentis military in several combat scenarios, in which various robotic machines intervened, and in particular Spot, the dog of Boston Dynamics . Objective, explains Commander Jean-Baptiste Cavalier: measure the added value of robots during a confrontation . Thus, each exercise was carried out twice by the students, who first had to evolve on their own, then get help from robots.
If Spot, the four-legged robot from Boston Dynamics is not intended to be militarized , recently assured its creators, the American dog had thedeserves to keep military students safe during many of their exercises. The latter, in addition to benefiting from an unparalleled balance, was indeed able to open doors. A major asset for urban clashes, since the robot is also equipped with GoPro cameras attached to its back for the occasion, which allows it to send images to the human troops left behind.
Some points to review
When questioned by Ouest France via the lines of defense blog, several students who participated in the exercises spoke of the advantages of robotic assistance during combat. However, machines are not yet ready to replace humans in the field: despite their slowness, some also suffer from limited autonomy . This is particularly the case with Spot, which died in the midst of a land assault.
