Robots are clearing potential mine trails behind the front lines in Russia's war on Ukraine.
Demining is very dangerous, so employing robots in the task helps solve many problems in one fell swoop.
This type of activity is critical to opening safe passage for people and vehicles, and appears to be limited to places where Russia believes it can operate safely.
To do this, the Russians deployed the "Uran-6" - a remotely piloted robot the Russians used in Syria - to remove roadside bombs.
In a video clip published by the Russian newspaper "Izvestia", Uran-6 can be seen walking on a dirt road said to be a place outside Mariupol in Ukraine.
This robot comes with a large cylinder with a pointed chain in front of it that explodes as it passes over the landmines, destroying the mine.
Mariupol, the Ukrainian city famous for recent events, has been the scene of a deadly war for nearly two months.
On May 17, the last Ukrainian units in the city surrendered to Russia, and more published footage shows "Uran-6" robots clearing the fortified areas of the Azov Beach in Mariupol.
"Russian state media are showing the work of the Uran-6 to demonstrate that the country's military is using modern and advanced equipment," said Samuel Bendet, an analyst at the Center for Naval Analysis and an associate senior fellow at the Center for American Security.
The last Ukrainian units in the city of Mariupol surrendered to Russia on May 17 last (Getty)
But there is a downside to the robot, as the Russian "Uran-6" does not completely remove the risks from demining operations, and this reveals the limitations of the technology used in the robot.
Another limitation factor for the robot is explained by Bendet, "We see limited use of Uran-6 because the operator must be relatively close to the robot no more than several hundred feet, so Uran-6 is used when Russian or Russian-allied forces are securing the area and ensuring that There is no danger of Ukrainian attacks."
Robotic demining can provide some initial road safety, allowing troops to move through them with minimal risk.
However, well-hidden or inappropriately placed devices are often overlooked by initial scans, and it can take years, if not decades, to clear an area of explosives after a war.
"As Russian forces continue their slow advance through Ukrainian territory, it is possible that the Russian Ministry of Defense will showcase additional uses of the Uran-6 in its promotional videos," Bendet said.
At the same time, there is plenty of evidence that the bulk of demining is actually done by explosive experts, who have to identify mines in an "old school" manner on foot, destroying mines, munitions and other unexploded ordnance.
Demining is a labor-intensive and time-consuming task, and even when scanning is done by robots like Uran-6, the robot is still guided by humans.
While this is a necessary chore to set up safe operations, uncleared areas may impede the flow of ammunition and other supplies to soldiers after an advance.
The areas in which the Uran-6 can be safely operated are shrinking as both sides of the war in Ukraine use artillery, due to the proximity of the human operator to the demining robot.
Soldiers may be willing to risk a robot in the face of incoming artillery or missiles, but qualified system operators are unlikely to expose themselves to any greater danger than they already are.
Despite the Russian Defense Ministry's talk of using an increasing number of robotic systems to protect human lives and make missions more efficient, which is its main goal in military autonomy and artificial intelligence, it will take some time.