Androidnaya Tekhnika Marker UGV

Overview:

The Marker is an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) that can be used with a wheeled or tracked chassis.^[1]RIA, ‘В России испытали автономную группу ударных роботов,сообщил источник’, https://ria.ru/20211019/robot-1755130790.html It is an experimental platform to test ground robotic technologies like autonomous navigation, group interactions and artificial vision.^[2]TASS, ‘Russia testing experimental robotic combat platform’, https://tass.com/defense/1067676 The Marker has a module to control several vehicles at a time. The Marker is modular, and can be fitted with a Kalashnikov-produced machine gun, anti-tank grenade launchers, loitering munitions, electric rockets, as well as tube-launched and towed unmanned aerial vehicles.^[3]Army recognition, ‘Russian Marker UGV robot to operate in friend-or-foe identification mode’, … Continue reading

The developer has claimed that the Marker will eventually be able to ‘launch swarms of BAS-80 small kamikaze drones, via installation of up to 100 such drones in containers.’

Autonomy:

It reportedly uses algorithms and programmed modules to detect various targets.^[4]C4ISRNET, ‘Russian system uses infantry to spot for robots’, https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2019/03/04/russias-new-robot-is-a-combat-platform-with-drone-scouts/ Research agency ARF, its developer, states that the weapon system gives the operator a target designation who can then approve an engagement. ARF adds that “the evolution of combat robots is on the path of increasing the ability to perform tasks in autonomous mode with a gradual reduction in the role of the operator.” The system reportedly has a modular multispectral vision and data processing system, featuring neural network algorithms, and “2D and 3D object recognition, semantic segmentation, depth calculation, automatic self-localization, trajectory building.”

Russia has apparently tested five Markers operating as an autonomous group without human involvement. The “robots, without human involvement, solved the tasks of distributing targets within the group, reaching optimal firing positions, reacting independently to operational changes in the combat situation, and exchanging target designations.”

The Marker was also tested at the Vostochny spaceport where it patrolled the perimeter autonomously in conjunction with security guards. In the future, the developers plan to test them together with drones.^[5]Janes, ‘Russia reveals its updated Marker UGV’, https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/russia-reveals-its-updated-marker-ug

Instances of use:

Reportedly tested by Russia in Ukraine