Russia is actively working on the development of autonomous systems and unmanned transport, but still lags behind a number of countries where unmanned taxis already massively transport passengers. This was stated by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin at a meeting on the development of unmanned autonomous systems (BAS).
According to Putin, some countries have achieved full sovereignty in the production of all components for autonomous equipment, which is a key factor in competitiveness. The Russian leader stressed that the topic of unmanned transport and autonomous systems determines the position of countries in the civil and defense spheres.
Putin outlined the main priorities for the introduction of autonomous systems:
- Russia should move faster from testing to widespread implementation of autonomous solutions;
- Unmanned vehicles are not a fashion, but a necessity to replace low-skilled and dangerous labor;
- Plans for the introduction of unmanned technologies should cover key sectors of the economy;
- Introduction of robot deliverymen and other autonomous devices into the legal field;
- Creation and implementation of sovereign artificial intelligence technologies;
- Attracting veterans with experience in drone control in combat conditions to civilian projects;
- Russia needs sovereign artificial intelligence technologies, a plan for their implementation will be discussed in the near future;
- It is necessary to more actively create a legal framework for end-to-end BAS management through satellites, as well as to form a comprehensive legal regulation for the use of drones in a short time;
- Russia should prepare for an active role in the global market for unmanned systems.
The President of the Russian Federation noted that the country's scientific, personnel and industrial potential allows it to become one of the world leaders in the development, production and implementation of autonomous systems. According to him, these technologies, along with digital platforms and artificial intelligence, are shaping the future of the global economy and defense.
Putin instructed the government and the presidential administration to prepare proposals to improve the efficiency of managing the autonomous systems industry in order to establish coordination between ministries, technology companies, constituent entities of the federation and scientific organizations.