Ukraine war fuels rise of killer AI robots — report details rapid evolution using consumer drones and Raspberry Pi

AI robot in an office setting
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Many have feared the day we must recognize that killer AI robots have come to fruition. They say necessity is the mother of invention, and Ukraine’s need for a means to continue fighting its war with Russia cannot be denied. So, the country has become a Silicon Valley for drones, autonomous weaponry, and more.

The country’s tech industry has begun adapting consumer technology, much of it right off the shelf, for modern warfare. The New York Times says companies are creating “technology that makes human judgment about targeting and firing increasingly tangential.” Autonomous systems currently keep a “human in the loop” to select and confirm targets. “Human in the loop” is an oft-used phrase by policymakers and AI ethicists, and one fear is that it may not always remain a requirement of the technology.

Keeping the "human in the loop," in this case, means drone operators wearing modified VR headsets and using video game controllers. These often use hobbyist computers like the Raspberry Pi and modified consumer drones. We’ve all seen drones that can follow a snowboarder down a mountain — it isn’t much work to transform that software so it can instead track and follow an enemy combatant.

It involves taking drones that look similar to the DJI Mavic Pro and modifying them so they can use first-person view (FPV) for combat instead of following an extreme sports enthusiast or mountain biking trip. Much of the success of these projects is made possible by the widespread availability of consumer technology that can be easily weaponized. 

They can also leverage machine learning algorithms, like those used in Apple's Detection mode in iOS Accessibility settings, to identify more than just doors, steps, and signage: entrepreneurs are adapting the models to detect enemy tanks and artillery placements.

Saker Drone with FPV

Saker drone and a soldier wearing a FPV headset (Image credit: Saker)

Ukrainian manufacturers like drone companies Vyriy and Saker have developed and implemented autonomous targeting systems for their drones. A human operator has to select and lock in the target, but the tracking software takes over from there. Vyriy uses basic computer vision algorithms, but Saker applies deep learning, a component of AI, to build software that can identify and attack targets.

In the case of Saker’s software, the AI processes were initially designed to sort and classify fruit. After adapting the software for warfare, Saker began sending prototypes to the front lines for testing with drone pilots. The project worked so well that Saker now mass-produces single-board computers with its software for attaching to FPV drones.

The drones are loaded with explosives and sent airborne. Once the human operator identifies a target, the drone tracks it until it can crash into its target and explode. Videos confirmed by The New York Times show the drones hitting Russian targets on the front line.

Saker is now making 1,000 circuit boards each month and plans to increase production to 9,000 per month by the end of the summer. Again, this is all fueled by necessity.

“Once we reach the point when we don’t have enough people, the only solution is to substitute them with robots,” Saker co-founder Rostyslav said. The exec asked to be identified only by his first name to avoid Russian retaliation.

Victory Drones

Victory appears to be using modified DJI drones (Image credit: Victory)

In another project, the Ukrainian military is developing an autonomous gun turret. Dubbed Wolly because of its resemblance to the Pixar robot WALL-E, the turret can lock onto a target from up to 1,000 meters away. The operator uses a PlayStation controller and tablet to monitor the system and select targets. Wolly can jump between preprogrammed positions to cover a broad area.

At its heart, Wolly is possible because the same technology allows surveillance camera systems to identify individuals. The app surrounds identified targets with a box, and the operator only needs to pull the trigger on the PlayStation controller to open fire.

Wolly, an autonomous gun turret

Wolly, an autonomous gun turret (Image credit: Militarnyi)

Human rights groups and United Nations officials don’t fully agree with the innovation. Understandably, they want to limit the use of autonomous weapons, fearing they might trigger a new global arms race that could destabilize the entire planet.

However, in Ukraine, the concern lies more in continuing to fight off the invading Russian forces. Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, said the country needs “maximum automation. These technologies are fundamental to our victory.”

Jeff Butts
Contributing Writer

Jeff Butts has been covering tech news for more than a decade, and his IT experience predates the internet. Yes, he remembers when 9600 baud was “fast.” He especially enjoys covering DIY and Maker topics, along with anything on the bleeding edge of technology.

  • hotaru251
    luckily for it the singularity will have all the drones it needs to take over world as soon as it happens.
    Reply
  • CmdrShepard
    It's easy to stop the wars -- just vote all warmongering politicians out of the office.

    (That'd be like all of them?)
    Reply
  • derekullo
    Trained to destroy apples with extreme prejudice!
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    CmdrShepard said:
    It's easy to stop the wars -- just vote all warmongering politicians out of the office.

    (That'd be like all of them?)
    Sigh.....

    I was going to try to preempt any political junk in this.

    But the 2nd comment in, usurped me.


    So....No more political junk.
    Please?
    Reply
  • KnightShadey
    USAFRet said:
    Sigh.....
    I was going to try to preempt any political junk in this.
    But the 2nd comment in..

    Oh sure.... take the side of Skynet... or you meant 2nd reply in. 🤔😉🙃😜

    I'm on the fence on the debate of robots killing people, if it can better determine combatant vs non-combatant, then I'd say that's an improvement over the classical method. 💀

    It is true that over time, IN GENERAL, collateral damage / non-combatant deaths have been a lower percentage from generation to generation, but that has also come about from computer assisted devices like guidance systems, smart bombs, drones, etc. The idea that a human is on the other end doesn't really change the result for the target. However if it is possible to be more precise and also put fewer people at general risk , then is the tradeoff worthwhile?

    It's definitely far superior to A,B,C weaponry, which is much worse than Ai IMO. ☢️☣️📛
    So if you don't completely ban the former, then the latter is fair game, even if they all pose existential threats. ☠️
    Just don't give the latter control of the former, keep it conventional. 🧐
    Reply
  • ivan_vy
    potential hacking or AI going rogue is a major concern.
    Imagine a battlefield with machines in eternal warfare and humans living in basements.
    Reply
  • gamerk316
    ivan_vy said:
    potential hacking or AI going rogue is a major concern.
    Imagine a battlefield with machines in eternal warfare and humans living in basements.
    Which isn't too large a concern when you remember they're limited by both ammunition and the ability to stay operational for more then a few hours due to fuel/battery constraints.

    Now, put AI in charge of ammo/fuel production, or start slapping fission reactors on them, *then* you can be concerned. Right now, all we'd really need to do is hide in a basement for 12 hours or so and wait for them to die out.
    Reply
  • ivan_vy
    gamerk316 said:
    Which isn't too large a concern when you remember they're limited by both ammunition and the ability to stay operational for more then a few hours due to fuel/battery constraints.

    Now, put AI in charge of ammo/fuel production, or start slapping fission reactors on them, *then* you can be concerned. Right now, all we'd really need to do is hide in a basement for 12 hours or so and wait for them to die out.
    solar powered, battery backed, connected to the grid, replenish energy by another drone...who's wanna go out and check how many rounds are still in the chamber?
    how long can we wait? food and water might run out faster than fuel.
    Reply
  • abufrejoval
    I agree that this war will be seen as a watershed in terms of how wars were fought before and after.

    There is so much more in any smartphone today than what a cruise missle needed, and at the same time there is just no way to protect against phones being upgraded an explosive payload.

    And then there is just so much potential in war for all that IoT technology, that never made any sense for consumers.

    Thousands of engineers who really wanted to create cool gadgets now unknowingly, unwillingly but also bolstered by rather serving from the labs than from the trenches are building killing machines that will be near impossible to put back into the bottle.

    And it's not just the computing side of things, similar things happen with propulsion, 3D printing etc. Weaponsisation is hitting all fronts!
    Reply