Video of a robotic dog equipped with a submachine gun is making the rounds on social media — months after a man living in Russia posted terrifying footage of the dystopian killing machine on YouTube. “All the people who laughed at ‘worries’ years ago because they were scared by Funny Dancing Robot Dogs™ should be forced to watch this video once a day for the rest of the year,” one Twitter user posted on Wednesday . The 84-second viral clip, which has been viewed more than 4.3 million times, shows the robotic dog firing a machine gun and sprinting over bricks in front of a snowy field. At one point, the killing machine opens fire – with a sharp recoil that knocks it back onto its hind legs. The video also shows the dog — which has a Russian flag on one side — walking near a military vehicle. The original clip was posted in March by Alexander Atamov of Moscow, who showed a photo of the terrifying creature he referred to as “Skynet,” according to a translation of the post.YouTube The original excerpt was posted in March by Alexander Atamov of Moscow, who posted a photo of the terrifying creature on Facebook that he referred to as “Skynet,” according to a translation of the post. “It would be nice to have these dogs and other remote controlled robots in a war on both sides where the whole war would be without a human on the field,” one person replied, according to a translation. “Russian development?” asked another, to which Atamov said yes, the post shows. Atamov’s LinkedIn profile lists him as the founder of Russia’s Hoversurf, which unveiled a new air taxi model in January 2021 that was expected to be ready for flights as early as 2023, Reuters reported. The video also shows the robot dog – which bears a Russian flag on one side – advancing near a military vehicle.YouTube Vice notes that the robot dog is not the same model as Boston Dynamics’ dancing version, though it looks similar despite having different legs and different ports. Dozens of knockoffs of the Boston Dynamics dog are being sold online, including the version in the video, which appears to be a UnitreeYusu “tech dog” that sells for just $2,700 online, Vice reported. The weapon linked to the dog is seen on a Russian-made PP-19 Vityaz — a submachine gun based on the AK-47 — while the military vehicle seen in the video is a Russian BDRM-2 armored car, which was recently spotted in Ukraine. according to Vice. Some on Twitter, meanwhile, wondered what could come of the “terrifying development” of a robotic dog equipped with a submachine gun — though it’s unclear whether the device was autonomously firing or remotely controlled. “Oh this robot dog is so cute they said,” read one tweet. “But deep down you all knew where this was going.” “Jesus Christ,” noted another observer. “I really like how he can’t control recoil and fires stray bullets in random directions. This is some dystopian Metal Gear s–t… I’m all for gun control, but if they start developing robot dogs with f–king assault rifles, we need to start arming ourselves.”
