Robot named Chappie: Pentagon shows one of the devices for working in dangerous conditions

Photo: Sergeant Dominic Garcia at the controls of the Chappie robot

Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado not only serves as a workplace for U.S. Space Force personnel, but also as a testing ground for unmanned devices designed to work in hazardous conditions.

Last week, the U.S. Space Force released photos of a device called Chappie, one of the Pentagon's autonomous robots designed to operate in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) environments, Voice of America reports.

Chappie is an example of a Quadrupedal Unmanned Ground Vehicle (QUGV) — a “four-legged unmanned ground vehicle” or “robot dog,” as they are sometimes called. According to the Space Force website, the robot's functions include remotely detecting hazardous materials using a variety of sensors, which distinguishes it from other similar systems.

"After you spend enough time around it, you start to forget you're working with a QUGV," said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Dominic Garcia of the Air Force's Office of Emergency Management. Garcia said Chappie is a significant step up in CBRN defense."

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"The idea came from a deployment to Syria, where we were detecting and destroying ISIS chemical weapons while facing new chemical threats," Garcia recalled."— I thought there had to be a safer, faster way [to handle chemicals]". Later, in 2022, Garcia applied to research the technology at AFWERX, a Pentagon grant program. The $1.24 million grant he received allowed him to develop the technology for remotely detecting CBRN threats and test it at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah.

Chappie is planned to be further improved in the coming years. The military intends to increase its mobility and adapt it to work in more challenging conditions.

This is not the first time the US military has used "robot dogs" for its work. For example, in December 2021, the Air National Guard base in Portland, Oregon, became the first National Guard base to use the QUGV.

The robot, developed by Ghost Robotics, can transmit information in a dangerous area for humans, monitor the base perimeter, scan the area using several types of cameras, and perform other functions, according to the military.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga