From science fiction to warzone: Two-year-old tech startup wants to put humanoid robots in US military

At a time when Silicon Valley tech giants are racing to build friendly humanoid robots that can fold laundry, brew coffee or serve lattes, a two-year-old startup has a bigger mission in mind – send human-like robots to war. San Francisco-based robotics company, Foundation Future Industries, is shunning household chores to build autonomous humanoid robots explicitly designed for heavy industrial factories and frontline military combat.According to a report by CNBC, early versions of the startup’s robots have already been sent to Ukraine to undergo real-world testing in Kyiv’s ongoing war against Russia. Now, the company is aiming to bring its tech directly to the US armed forces.“I’m convinced the technology is reaching a level where it can replace jobs that are dangerous for humans to perform,” Foundation CEO Sankaet Pathak told CNBC. He argued that keeping humans out of harm's way is “the highest net good you can create out of all applications of robotics.”The company, earlier this year, shipped two of its “Phantom MK-1” humanoid units to Ukraine for a pilot demonstration. According to the company, this marks the first known deployment of humanoid robots in a combat zone.Supported by the US government and conducted alongside Ukrainian officials, the tests focused on using the robots to pick up and deliver supplies in hazardous areas – tasks that frequently expose human soldiers to deadly enemy fire.However, Foundation's current MK-1 robots are far from super-soldiers. This is because they can only carry a 44-pound payload, have limited battery life and are not waterproof. To fix this, Foundation plans to launch an upgraded "Phantom 2" robot later this year. The startup plans to scale manufacturing to thousands of units this year and begin frontline testing with the US military within the next 18 months.However, Foundation’s rapid rise has already caught the attention of Washington, particularly after the company brought on Eric Trump, the son of US President Donald Trump, as its chief strategy advisor.Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren publicly criticised the move, alleging that the firm’s relationship with the First Family represents “corruption in plain sight.” A spokesperson for Foundation defended the hire, stating that Eric Trump was an early investor who shares the company's ultimate goal of bringing high-tech manufacturing back to the US.