This Rugged Robot Dog Was Built for War Zones

Ghost Robotics, a Philadelphia-based developer of rugged quadruped robots, has launched a new Manipulator Arm for its Vision 60 Quadruped Unmanned Ground Vehicle (Q-UGV). 

This addition gives the all-weather “robot dog” the ability to interact with and adapt to its environment, significantly expanding its usefulness on hazardous missions for the military, first responders, and industry.

The Vision 60 has long been praised for its all-terrain agility, able to handle rain, snow, and rough terrain while maintaining endurance that reportedly triples that of competing legged platforms. However, its missions were often limited to sensing and surveillance. The new, modular Manipulator Arm, mounted on top of the Q-UGV, changes that.

The arm has six degrees of freedom (DoF), meaning it can move in many directions, and its design gives it smooth, force-sensitive control, built to mirror the durability of the robot’s legs. This enables the Vision 60 to perform new, complex tasks like opening doors, retrieving objects, handling equipment, such as in Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), and acting as a “periscope” to peer around corners or over obstacles.

The arm itself is surprisingly rugged, a necessary feature after the company reportedly found that off-the-shelf arms failed when the 50 kg robot inevitably rolled over. Ghost Robotics now views the arm, morphologically, as a “fifth leg” integrated into the robot’s overall control system.

Prioritizing safety in dangerous missions

The addition of an arm directly addresses the company’s core mission and the needs of its most demanding customers, including the US Marine Corps, Army, and Air Force. By adding manipulation capabilities, the robot can now tackle tasks indoors and out, making it an invaluable tool for safely entering unknown or hostile environments.

“At Ghost Robotics, our mission is to keep people out of harm’s way,” said Gavin Kenneally, co-founder and CEO of Ghost Robotics. “We already build legged robots for some of the world’s most demanding customers operating in the toughest environments. Now, those same robots can manipulate the world around them — giving first responders, warfighters, and inspectors a safer and more capable platform for hazardous or hard-to-reach missions.”

Kenneally also pointed out the specific value of the arm for tactical situations: “The Vision 60 was built for the harshest terrain outside, but anyone in public safety or defense knows the toughest challenges are often inside the building. With our new arm enabling door access, the robot is built for both worlds.”

Military officials have signaled a desire for robots to make first contact in combat operations to reduce human risk. With the new arm, the Vision 60 can now breach and clear a room, allowing a machine, not a person, to be the first one to encounter a potential threat. 

As Kenneally told Janes, “The first person through the door experiences the vast majority of the casualties… You’d love to have a robot be… first thing through the door, let the robot get shot at, and get you the situational awareness of what’s going on.”

Ghost Robotics is positioning the Vision 60 as more than just a mobile sensor platform. With the new arm, the robot can interact with the world rather than just observe it. This follows growing interest in multipurpose quadrupeds, especially as competition from lower-cost Chinese robotics makers intensifies.

Also read: Unitree’s H2 humanoid sparring video shows how quickly full-body robot coordination is advancing.
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