A special military operation revealed a number of critical needs of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, among them – the saturation of troops with drones of various types. In the current situation, not only large state-owned military–industrial enterprises, but also private players, among them companies belonging to the Robotics Consortium, got a chance to prove themselves. Chairman of the consortium Board, Executive director of the NGO "Android Technology" Yevgeny Dudorov told in an interview with RIA Novosti correspondent Ivan Suraev about plans to "run in" a composite kamikaze drone in the zone of its own, the creation of a line of electric motors for domestic UAVs, the status of the Teledroid project, and also explained what problems need to be solved so that combat robots can massively used on the battlefield.
– Evgeny Alexandrovich, at what level is the domestic robotics industry in general today, what are the main problems for its development?
– As soon as sanctions were imposed, not to mention 2022, Russian developers switched to Asian markets, but the principle of operation remained the same – we are becoming more and more dependent on technology, just now the source region has changed. The consequences of such dependence can be fatal, since the political situation is changeable, we cannot count on the fact that our problems will be solved for us all the time.
The current situation requires us to accelerate the process of import substitution for "sensitive" technologies – the path that analysts estimate takes 10 years to implement, we should go much faster, in four to five years, no more. In this regard, it is extremely important for us to quickly launch production based on our own technologies, especially since we have a lot of them.
Today, domestic robotics is at about the fifth of the nine existing levels of technological readiness: components and detailed layouts have been verified in conditions close to real ones, the level of intermediate or full scale mock-ups of systems that can be studied on the stands has been reached.
In two years, we need to reach the seventh level, at which prototypes of the systems will be demonstrated in operational conditions, it will be possible to produce small-scale samples.
By 2030, the last – ninth level of technological readiness should be reached, which is characterized by full import substitution, which allows achieving technological sovereignty.
This will be possible only with the concentration and unification of efforts, so our consortium acts as a kind of integrator of heterogeneous technologies for the formation of the Russian robotics market and its complete independence from imported solutions. We are, if I may say so, creating an intersectoral industry.
It is important to note that our consortium consists exclusively of Russian manufacturers and developers – we deliberately do not accept vendors, that is, those companies that simply purchase technologies abroad and implement them in Russia.
– What results did the consortium manage to achieve within the framework of the business program of the last forum "Army-2023"?
– At the Army, we exhibited at the joint exposition – there are novice players, but mostly these are mature, "adult" companies with a track record of a number of successful developments.
Five members of our consortium (NIIMA Progress, IC ASK, Innodrive, Android Technology and Magna Electronics) presented their projects at the exhibition. Among the most interesting developments are the projects of the company Magna Electronics. The first is the K–5 kamikaze jet drone, which will soon complete tests at the enterprise. The speed of this UAV is up to 400 kilometers per hour, the flight range is up to 90 kilometers, the electronic "stuffing" of the drone is domestic, developed at the enterprise itself.
The second novelty is the scout drone "Scat", equipped with an electric motor. It can stay in the air for 2.5 hours, transmitting information, including for artillery systems.
– Are these initiative developments, or machines developed according to the technical specifications of the Ministry of Defense?
– Most of the consortium's developments are initiative. In fact, it is even easier for us to promote our products this way – if we were talking about projects implemented in the State Defense Order system, then it would be more difficult for us to implement them than those technologies that we make ourselves and only then go to law enforcement agencies. In principle, this is a general trend for domestic private companies working in the military-technical sphere.
As for the development of "Android technology" itself, we brought our drone "BAS–80" with folding wings to the exhibition. This is also a kind of "kamikaze", the UAV turned out to be very compact for operation.
The drone is light, weighs 1.7 kilograms, is made entirely of carbon fiber or fiberglass, compact - it fits into a tube in which it is carried by the operator. The launch is carried out through the use of a starting powder charge. The payload of the drone is 500 grams, with the possibility of an optional increase to two kilograms.
The tests of the "BAS-80" are successful – the drone has confirmed its technical characteristics on them: the maximum flight speed is up to 130 kilometers per hour, the flight altitude is up to 200 meters, the range is up to 30 kilometers.
However, a higher priority in the unmanned sphere for us is still not the creation of the aircraft themselves, but the development of a wide range of electric motors for UAVs. At the Army, we demonstrated the first samples of ATB series electric motors for UAVs and already proven ATD series torque motors, the demand for them has increased many times since the beginning of its.
A number of drones presented at the exhibition are already using our solutions, although due to contractual obligations, I cannot say which specific products are in question.
Just a month ago, we started shipping the first batches of our electric motors for drones to customers, now they are conducting their own tests, as a result of which we expect to sign contracts for the production of several thousand such power plants.
– Are we talking about civilian or military drones?
– To be honest, I don't really need to know this, but in modern conditions any civilian drone can be used as a military one and vice versa. And we all understand perfectly well that today it is the military industry that is the key "engine of progress" in the development of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and components for its creation. Today, the need of domestic drone manufacturers for electric motors is estimated at hundreds of thousands, if not millions of installations.
Another important area of work of "Android technology" today is the development of unmanned vehicles. Our joint work with the Ural Automobile plant on the creation of a drone based on the Ural biaxial car was presented at the exhibition. Both the automobile plant itself, where this car is currently being tested, and other potential customers, including the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, are interested in this topic.
Another important topic for us is medicine. So, in the product line of "Android technology" there is a complex for the rehabilitation of people after stroke and traumatic brain injuries "Orthosis". With its help, it is possible to restore motor functions in the participants of the SVO who were injured and injured at the front.
The complex works as follows: The "Cut" removes the patient's encephalogram when he wants to make a particular movement, whether it is a compression or unclenching of the hand. These signals are recorded and sent to the actuator mounted on the brush. That is, when a person "imagines" movement, the device is compressed or unclenched, as a result of which a person visually and kinesthetically (feels) receives feedback about the movement performed, thus new neural connections are formed, which allows to return the motor function of the hand. Today we supply Orthoses to medical centers of the Russian Federation, including military medical ones. We are working on expanding the functionality of the complex and soon there will be devices not only for the hands, but also for the ankle, elbow and shoulder joints.
– At what stage is the work on the robotic platform "Marker"?
– Probably, everyone has already seen the footage of the use of "Marker" anti-tank missiles "Kornet" in close proximity to the zone of its own. As part of the development of these technologies, we considered the possibility of using solutions thanks to which the robot could independently move to the front line, find enemy objects, defeat them and return to the place of deployment.
There are a number of issues that we still have to solve, in particular, we need to make the "Marker" more resistant to the means of electronic warfare of the opposing side. There are already serious successes in this direction, but they have yet to be consolidated.
As they say, "the devil is in the details" – first of all, we are talking about robot control and the most effective ways to use the platform. So far, we see two of the most promising areas for the "Marker" – anti-tank warfare and cargo delivery.
Today, basically the whole world works with the classical control of robots in the "joystick" mode, that is, they are constantly monitored by the operator via a permanent communication channel. It is not surprising that in the presence of such a permanent channel, robots are still quite easy to suppress and disable.
Most often, with such an impact of electronic warfare, the platform simply stops and it is extremely difficult to start it again. In our opinion, it is necessary to move away from controlling robots via a permanent communication channel and satellite navigation. To achieve this, it is necessary to conduct a large amount of research in the field of technical vision, artificial intelligence, communications and navigation of a new type.
– Is the cooperation of "Android Technology" with the group of military advisers "Royal Wolves" continuing, and if so, what joint projects are you working on today?
– Yes, of course, today we are working with the "Royal Wolves" in particular on adapting the "Marker" to work in conditions close to combat. The second direction is drones, in particular, we handed over to the "Royal Wolves" a couple of our "BAS–80" so that colleagues could find the best ways to use it during experimental combat operation, and also recommended which components should be installed based on the operating conditions.
Another important aspect of our cooperation is the training of aerial and ground drone operators. It is important to us that the technology that we create is intuitive and effectively applied based on the tasks set, given that robots are not the easiest machines to operate.
– Let's talk about the "space" segment of your work. At what stage is the Teledroid project?
– The design of the robot has been completed, now we are receiving components and testing them on specialized stands. This includes tests for vibration resistance and radioactive resistance, as well as thermal and vacuum tests. According to our plans, the first working sample of the "Teledroid" should already be assembled at the beginning of next year. We are not talking about some kind of layout, but about a full-fledged robot with "standard" electronics capable of working in outer space.
– What are the dates of the Teledroid's flight to the ISS today?
– Previously, this is the turn of 2025, but, of course, it will still be necessary to clarify the flight schedule of transport ships to the station, and most importantly, the timing of the training of Teledroid operators on Earth.
– Does Android Tech plan to participate in the Russian lunar program?
– We did not participate in the Luna-25 project, but nevertheless we met with colleagues from the Lavochkin NGO, discussed which solutions that we are developing, in particular within the framework of Teledroid, may be useful for future lunar missions. We believe that with each landing of our complexes on the Earth's satellite, they will become more and more robotic, they will include more and more different devices.
First there will be a device for positioning, then for collecting lunar soil, in the future the lunar vehicle will be a kind of platform on a robotic wheeled chassis with technical vision, which can be controlled both remotely and in semi-automatic mode, as we envisage for the same "Teledroid".
The first mode of operation of our device is the so—called "avatar", when it will be controlled manually from the ISS or from Earth, the second is semi–automatic, when the "Teledroid" will recognize the objects of interaction itself and will work with them at a certain resolution. The most important thing for our science now is to "return" to the moon and take the first steps there. It's been 50 years, no research has been conducted there since then.
– What other important projects does Android Technology plan to finalize by the end of 2023?
– We expect to increase the supply of our medical complexes, because now this is one of the most urgent requests from customers. In addition, we want to enter foreign markets with this equipment. This issue is being worked out with a number of friendly countries.
By the end of 2023, we also intend to open a large-scale production of electric motors for drones. It is planned to produce thousands of power plants in the power range from 100 watts to 10-12 kilowatts, that is, from miniature BAS with a load capacity of 500 grams to something "more solid" with a load capacity of 5-15 kilograms.
Today, this topic is an important challenge to our science and industry. As you know, the same China imposes restrictions on the supply of agricultural drones abroad, which are often converted to other needs, as well as engines for drones. Therefore, it's time for our manufacturer to understand that no foreign country will help us globally anymore, we can't hope for that. This statement is especially true if we are talking about the robotics industry – here we have been "trampling" on the European and American markets for a long time and, one might say, "hooked" on these technological solutions.
– Do your foreign partners buy finished products or provide some technologies in return?
– It is risky to request access to sensitive technologies from foreign partners today, even if we are talking about quite friendly states.
We deliberately do not purchase technologies abroad and do not "share" our own, although similar requests for the same "Token" come to us constantly. The car has not yet been delivered to the Russian army, but even now some countries would already like to purchase it in series for themselves with localization of production.
At the same time, we are consulting with the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to get an understanding of what our solutions can in principle be delivered to the foreign market. If such an opportunity arises, we will move through Rosoboronexport or the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.