US-built robot dog that joined a Japanese military drill goes on show at Taipei forum

A US-built military robot dog of the kind Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force took into an exercise earlier this year went on public display in Taipei on 11 October 2026, at a forum on Taiwan-Japan technology and defence-industry cooperation.

The four-legged robot was shown at the 2026 Taiwan-Japan Future Technology Forum by the event's organiser, the Indo-Pacific Strategy Thinktank, the Liberty Times and the Taipei Times reported. It is built on the Vision 60 platform from Ghost Robotics, a Philadelphia company, which both papers said has been adopted by the US Marine Corps, Army and Air Force. The Liberty Times said more than 1,000 of the robots have been delivered worldwide.

Wu Jung-tsan, deputy general manager of Tansimo Robotic Manufacturing, told the forum that the Vision 60 had taken part in a Japanese military exercise in the first quarter of this year, which he said showed that four-legged robots had moved out of the laboratory and into practical use. Handing some high-risk tasks to unmanned systems could make operations more efficient and reduce the danger to personnel, he said.

From an airborne drill to armed patrols

In January, Stars and Stripes reported that Japan's 1st Airborne Brigade had used Vision 60 robots during its annual New Year training at the Narashino training area near Tokyo on 11 January, with the machines moving out alongside troops landed by CH-47 Chinook helicopters. The paper said, citing an announcer at the event, that it was the first time robot dogs had joined the drill.

The version shown in Taipei is rated IP67, meaning it can be submerged in one metre of water for 30 minutes, and works in temperatures from minus 40 to 55 degrees Celsius. It runs on an Nvidia Jetson computer, carries a 10-kilogram payload and can operate for more than three hours on one charge, against about 90 minutes for similar products, according to the two newspapers. The Liberty Times said a damaged leg can be swapped within five minutes.

Wu said the payload decides the mission. A LiDAR sensor lets the robot navigate on its own and avoid obstacles indoors or underground without GPS, and a wireless charging dock allows it to return and recharge by itself. A robotic arm with six degrees of freedom can open doors and pick up objects, including ammunition, lifting up to 3.75 kilograms, which suits explosive ordnance disposal and disaster work. Camera options include a low-light camera, a 33-times zoom camera and infrared night vision out to 50 metres. Both papers said the robot can also be armed to engage targets.

Taiwan's own robot dogs

Taiwan's military is already working with the same platform. In June, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology showed three robot dogs based on the Vision 60 at the Ministry of National Defense, fitted with its own electro-optical reconnaissance payload, a remotely controlled gun turret and a LiDAR sensor package for tasks such as base patrols and surveillance, the Economic Daily News reported.

The Taipei display was a sales pitch at a private forum rather than a procurement step. Neither newspaper reported any Taiwanese order for the configuration Tansimo promoted, but the event shows the robots Taiwan's state weapons institute is adapting now being marketed in Taipei on the strength of their use by Japanese forces.