FORWARD-LOOKING: Today's AI weaponry is very different from the sci-fi scenes of Terminators rampaging across battlefields with massive guns. But that scenario might not be as far away as it sounds. A company with ties to the Trump family is developing autonomous humanoid robots for use in both heavy industrial environments and military applications. And these robots could end up being used in Ukraine.
Foundation Future Industries, a startup founded in 2024 in San Francisco, has a goal shared by many similar robotics firms: to create machines that can take on those challenging, dangerous roles performed by humans.
CNBC reports that Sankaet Pathak, the company's CEO, said that those dangerous roles include missions in conflict zones. He has plans to scale production to thousands of units this year, and frontline testing is to begin with the US military within the next 18 months.
The company's ambitions to use its robots for military purposes have advanced beyond the planning stage. Earlier this year, Foundation sent two of its Phantom MK-1 units to Ukraine for a pilot demonstration, representing what it called the first ever deployment of a humanoid robot in a combat theater.
Several cutting-edge technologies never before used in an active war have appeared during Ukraine's fight with Russia, including advanced drones, AI, and robot dogs. If humanoid robots do become a regular sight on the future battlefield, it would be little surprise if they first appeared in this conflict.
