Warchangers – Ukrainian defense technologies to fight robots, not people

IA “FACT” already referred to the survey, conducted this year by Rating Group with the support of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which demonstrated the mass confidence of Ukrainians that Ukraine will be saved from a new war mainly by its own powerful weapons.

So, here too, the collective opinion coincides with the plans of the domestic establishment – the state should make the main bet on the development of its defense-industrial complex.  And small and medium-sized businesses are at the forefront of this activity. After all, it is small and medium-sized enterprises that can be flexible and innovative and quickly introduce new technologies and developments, which contributes to the development of the defense industry. It is a small business that can be a supplier of components, materials and services for large defense enterprises. It is the state of emergency that can produce products for the underground sector, important for national security.

In turn, small enterprises can be a link in the supply chain of large defense companies. Small enterprises can attract investments, which contributes to the development of the defense industry. Investors are often interested in innovative startups and promising projects.

The Brave1 platform supports the development of defense technologies so that robots, not humans, fight

Against this background, modern developments such as the Volya-E ground robotic complex, created for logistics and evacuation on the battlefield, look more than relevant. This project was implemented with the help of the Brave1 platform, which for a year has been providing grant support to developers for the development of defense technologies so that robots, not humans, fight.

Brave1 is a cluster for the development of military technologies in Ukraine, founded by the Ministry of Digital Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Security and Defense Council, the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine and the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. Its purpose is to provide developers with financial, information and organizational support for technological superiority over the enemy and victory.  Anyone working on a development that can change the course of war can register their project on the Brave1 platform and receive a corresponding grant.

Why did you apply for Brave1?

Alone in the field is not a warrior: trying to create something alone, you are unlikely to succeed due to limited resources. Conversely, in a group of like-minded people who are engaged in something similar, there is a greater chance of success. The developers of the ground robotic complex say that they applied to Brave1 as a platform for communication with like-minded people, financial support, and processing of documents related to receiving government orders.

Thanks to the grant received at Brave1, the developers purchased a license program for the construction of current development, office equipment and powerful computers, that is, they improved the material base for the production of such necessary products for the front.

A robot created to work at “zero”

As a result of the support received by the developers at the Brave1 platform, a unique robotic ground complex “Volya-E” was developed in 16 months. This is a robot created for logistics and evacuation of the wounded from the battlefield, for work at “zero”. This is a completely domestic development of a team of enthusiasts.

The idea of ​​creating such a robot seemed very viable to its developers and their partners from the very beginning. Because it came directly from a military serviceman who saw with his own eyes what losses the fighters suffer due to the lack of timely delivery of everything necessary to the front line and the possibility of evacuating the wounded. Often the speed of providing medical aid is decisive in whether a wounded fighter survives or bleeds out…

According to the developers, the uniqueness of this invention is in the optimal combination of size, power and passability. (With a height of 45 cm, a length of 135 cm and a width of 98 cm, the robot weighs 174 kg and has a load capacity of 150 kg). The model uses a tracked system of movement, thanks to which it can overcome areas that cannot be overcome by other robotic installations. It is known from the school physics curriculum: the larger the area in contact with the surface, the better the patency. But the inventors decided to switch from wheeled to tracked tracks not immediately, because there are few manufacturers in Ukraine that make high-quality tracks.

How a robotic complex helps on the front line

It so happened that no other means of transport, except ground and aerial drones, can provide our fighters with ammunition, water, food and other necessities when they are on the front lines. And these robots are optimally suited for delivering everything necessary in such situations.

Enthusiast inventors admit that the main reward for them is feedback from the military about how many wounded are saved on the battlefield during the mission. The reliability of the military “toy” is evidenced, for example, by the following story. When the platform got to the mined area of ​​the front, it was blown up several times by anti-personnel mines, but as if nothing had happened, it continued to move in the given direction…

How long does it take fighters to master the development

The control system of the robotic complex is simple and informative. If a fighter has management experience and an understanding of the drone control algorithm, then a few minutes are enough for him to master the basics of controlling this robot. But if we are talking about the skills and tactics of using unmanned systems, then longer training at a school with an instructor is required.

Plans of the authors of “Will-E” for the future

Currently, the primary task for the authors of “Volya-E” is to find the possibility of scaling production, since the development has already been codified and is being successfully used. The need for these works is very great, but, unfortunately, so far the developers cannot satisfy it by their own efforts. Therefore, now, first of all, the goal is to improve the model and find partners who could join the scaling of the production of the robotic complex, such a necessary front.

Tatyana Morarash