The U.S. Marine Corps is testing a new breed of robotic canine that can do much more than fetch and could possibly be headed to the battlefield. The Marines hope that these four-legged robotic dogs will enhance the mobility and safety of their soldiers in the future. CLICK TO GET KURT'S FREE CYBERGUY NEWSLETTER WITH SECURITY ALERTS, QUICK VIDEO TIPS, TECH REVIEWS, AND EASY HOW-TO'S TO MAKE YOU SMARTER The Unitree Go1 robot dog, nicknamed the GOAT (Grounded Open-Air Transport) by the Marines, is a four-legged machine that has a built-in AI system. It can be outfitted to carry an infantry anti-armor rocket launcher on its back. It can also be equipped with a forward-facing GoPro camera, multiple rails for extra cameras, aiming lasers, and other essential gear.

As a driver, have you ever asked yourself whether to make left turns? Unprotected left turns, that is, left turns with oncoming traffic, are among the most difficult and dangerous driving maneuvers. Although the risk of each individual left turn is negligible, if you are designing the behavior of a large fleet of self-driving cars, small individual risks add up to a significant number of expected injuries in the aggregate. Whether a fleet of cars should make left turns is a question that any developer of self-driving cars and any designer of mapping and routing applications faces today. A more general issue is at stake here: the decision of whether to make left turns involves a trade-off between safety and mobility (the time it takes to get to a destination).