Fedor The Robot Soldier Was At Interpolitex

See the one on the left. Via Interpolitex.

Russia’s largest annual homeland security event took place this week. Among the hundreds of exhibitors crowded inside the VDNH, a Soviet-era venue known for its commodious interior, was a display featuring an inert robot model known as Fedor. The humanoid construct might not look impressive, but Fedor does represent a serious achievement for mechatronic engineering in Russia.

Fedor’s origins date to 2014 when he was first shown at a demonstration attended by Vladimir Putin. But the robot didn’t acquire its name until 2017, when footage was shared on social media showing Fedor firing pistols, doing pushups, and driving a jeep. While some might question Fedor’s usefulness, its existence is a proof of concept for Russia’s scientific community, who want a bipedal cyborg avatar human operators can use when performing high risk jobs.

21st Century Asian Arms Race (21AAR) is a media partner for this year’s Interpolitex.

The event, which is jointly organized by Russia’s Ministry of Interior and the events company Bizon, attracted several hundred participating organizations. Among these were at least two dozen companies from China, most are preoccupied with digital cameras and optoelectronics, seeking new customers in the local market.

Since Interpolitex is focused on counter-terrorism, law enforcement, and emergency services the exhibitors were mostly showcasing merchandise. This is what makes it different from spectacles such as the Russia Army Expo or other events geared towards the military.

Russia assembles a licensed copy of the Schiebel S-100. One of these was shown at the VDNH in Moscow. Via Interpolitex.

But Interpolitex does serve as an ideal setting for different kinds of domestic technology products. This year alone offered rare glimpses of how far unmanned systems had progressed in Russia. Aside from explosive ordnance robots, a multitude of quadcopters and other rotorcraft were shown at Interpolitex. Surveillance equipment had a serious presence too. After all, it’s Russia.