HUMANOID robots, mass-produced by the millions in China and sold to the West as domestic assistants, can easily be turned against their masters with a single word command, experts have warned.
One hacked machine could then act as a “Trojan Horse” and turn other devices against their owners, creating an army of infected robots controlled by evil Xi.
It’s thought China’s ability to mass produce millions of dirt-cheap weapons and robots places Xi in an advantageous position to be able to control them.
Security researchers have warned about the innate vulnerabilities in these household helpers, designed to make chores easier for the owner, which can be manipulated by just a simple verbal command.
A compromised robot could become a violent threat to family members, sabotage production lines or steal sensitive information, while creating a chain-reaction attack with nearby machines.
At a recent tech convention in Shanghai, cyber-security research group DARKNAVY transformed a domestically produced humanoid robot priced at $14,200 into a “mobile spy”, which launched a physical attack on a mannequin.
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The “turned” robot raised its arm and punched the dummy to the ground, carrying out the malicious demand given by white-hat hackers.
In a matter of minutes, the infected device then used near-field wireless communication to infect other offline robots to carry out malicious instructions.
By exploiting the flaw within the robot’s AI system, Beijing could hijack hundreds of these household robots to launch an attack on the West, it is feared.
Currently, intelligent robots built by the manufacturing powerhouse are primarily used in entertainment performances, business receptions and scientific research.
But DARKNAVY warned that once the robots were deployed in roles such as inspection, counterterrorism, or medical and elderly care, unresolved security flaws could prove catastrophic.
A robot army with nefarious intent has been feared for some time, as China churns out the “first mass delivery” of humanoid machines.
Nightmarish footage released by a Chinese firm appears to show hundreds of industrial robots eerily standing in line before marching uniformly into shipping containers.
The sleek video, by the Shenzhen-based firm UBTECH Robotics, was made to promote the launch of the company’s second generation model.
Shot in a white, sterile warehouse, it appears to show tens of robots standing in perfectly spaced lines.
After a camera pans around the robots, giving viewers a complete 360-degree view of the machines, they are then seen marching in perfect unison.
First they appear to slide a battery pack out then back into their backs in an impressive show of autonomy and dexterity.
The robots then squat in unison, before tapping their feet and eventually, marching forward in perfect time with each other, loading themselves into shipping containers.
Once the cargo has loaded itself, the camera pans out to reveal multiple trucks, all ready to deliver the robots to their prospective buyers, with the caption “March Forward” loudly printed on the top left of the frame.
It comes as secretive robotics firms spar for supremacy – often with stunts and slick PR videos showing off their latest designs.
But according to some, UBTECH’s latest video is riddled in inaccuracies – with many speculating the legitimacy of its claims.
It comes amid the release of a bombshell EU police report which predicts that robots could groom children and terror drones could cripple cities, all within the next decade.
The 48-page study by Europol envisions angry unemployed mobs rioting against machines they blame for stealing their jobs.
Cops armed with “robo freezer guns” and “nano net grenades” are pictured blasting swarms of terrorist drones threatening to cut off electricity and water supplies.
Critics say these Hollywood scenes are over the top, but Brussels insists they are “plausible future scenarios”.
Researchers sketch out a world where robots are a “fixture of daily life across Europe, gliding silently through shopping centres, delivering parcels to fifth-floor flats and cleaning public transport platforms by night.”
The report adds: “In this uneasy climate, even minor malfunctions, such as a hospital care robot administering the wrong medication, are magnified into national scandals, fuelling populist calls to ‘put people first’.”
One of the most chilling warnings claims cyber crooks could hijack AI-powered care robots, turning helpers into predators able to harvest personal data or even groom vulnerable people.
The report also claims that “the empathetic capabilities of social robots might, in the future, be abused by criminal and terrorist actors for a variety of malicious activities.”