A Ukrainian ground robot maker said soldiers surprised it with the ways they used its robots, including using flying drones to drop them closer to Russian positions.
Ukraine has a growing army of ground robots that can evacuate the injured, blow up inside or fire on Russian positions, lay or remove mines, carry cargo, and gather intelligence. It’s a battlefield technology sector where Ukraine is rapidly experimenting and Western militaries are paying close attention.
Ark Robotics is one of the companies supplying these systems, making a suite of autonomous robots used by more than 20 Ukrainian brigades.
Its CEO, Achi, told Business Insider that Ukrainian soldiers have demonstrated “some really crazy ideas I would never imagine in my life that you would do.” He spoke using a pseudonym as a security precaution.
One example involved pairing a small Ark ground robot with a larger aerial drone, which carried the robot forward before “dropping it out of the sky.”
He said that when he first saw it, his immediate reaction was: “What the fuck? Why?” Then it quickly made sense.
“The goal is simple: get a tool on the ground fast without putting a person in harm’s way.”
Ultimately, he found, “it works.”
He said this use “wasn’t the robot’s original design, but give smart, motivated people a tool, and they’ll find new ways to use it — and squeeze more out of it.”
The “soldiers keep surprising us,” Achi said. “They are very creative.”
Getting creative
Aerial drones are available in significant numbers and are able to cover great distances quickly. Using them to transport ground robots helps overcome some of the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the robots, which have notable advantages once deployed.
Small ground robots can do things that are sometimes more challenging for aerial drones. They can drive into Russian dugouts or other positions to gather intelligence or deliver explosives. They can also be more precise when firing mounted weapons, and they are easier to conceal near Russian positions than aerial drones, which are noisy and have to hover overhead.
Achi described the tactic as one example of how quickly battlefield technology and tactics are evolving in Ukraine.
“There is so much innovation happening right now that it’s hard to comprehend,” he said.
Other arms makers have also been surprised at how Ukraine’s forces have used their weaponry. Kuldar Väärsi, the founder and CEO of Estonia’s Milrem Robotics, which makes ground robots used by Ukraine’s forces, previously told BI that Ukrainian soldiers have used them in ways he hadn’t expected.
“The creativity of Ukrainian troops is really admirable,” he said, adding that the way the company’s robots are used in Ukraine has led it to make changes in their design.
Companies with products deployed in Ukraine are seeking constant feedback from soldiers, often through group chats, video calls, and direct visits to front-line units.
Robotic warfare
Achi said the challenge for Ark Robotics is keeping pace with new ideas without changing products so rapidly that large-scale production becomes impossible.
Ark needs to experiment constantly and stay aware of what’s happening on the battlefield, but focusing on the wrong trends would mean sacrificing both mass and quality.
“This iteration cycle is insane. I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. It can mean making five different changes to a product in a few weeks, all while trying to make sure that you “lead your whole engineering team the right way.”
Achi said that even the importance of ground robots surprised him. In 2023, they were a “random side project,” he said, but Ark has leaned into the technology.
Ark Robotics also develops aerial drones and is making a system called Frontier that it says will enable thousands of aerial drones and ground robots to work together effectively with minimal human involvement.
Ukraine’s defense industry has boomed since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, and its Western partners have been closely watching, impressed at how quickly it can develop and make weaponry.
Ground robots still make up only a small fraction of Ukraine’s drone usage, but it’s a growing area, with more companies entering the space and existing ones growing.
Achi said he believes Ukraine is moving toward a future in which robots handle a significant share of front-line logistics. His long-term view is that sending people into vehicles near the front lines will increasingly make little sense.
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