US Army looks for robots that can clean up chemical and bioweapons messes
(2026/02/04)
- Reference: 1770225419
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/02/04/army_bots_cleanup_ai_biological_chemical/
- Source link:
It's bot versus bot! Just in time for the predicted rise of AI-made biological and chemical weapons, the US Army has plans to fight autonomy with autonomy by getting its hands on some bot-based chemical weapon cleanup tech.
The Army recently [1]published a Request For Information on Autonomous Decontamination Systems (ADS) to see what might be out there in the existing commercial market to help its Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) troops more easily clean up contaminated vehicles, infrastructure, and terrain.
"ADS will reduce manpower and optimize resources required for decontamination operations while mitigating the risk of exposure of warfighters to Chemical and Biological Warfare Agents through robotic means," the Army said in its RFI.
[2]
The Army sees its auto-decontamination machines fitting into platoon-sized groups (40 soldiers or so), where they'll be able to conduct full cleaning cycles, spraying decontaminants and rinsing objects with water. The branch is also looking for ADS to be capable of "precision contamination mapping" using "surface indication technologies to identify, digitize, and track the contamination footprint" as well as "post-decontamination assessment."
[3]
[4]
In short, the Army wants to get its CBRN troops out of harm's way and leave the dirty work to the bots.
The RFI notes that the Army is seeking tethered and untethered drones to serve as part of ADS, with aerial and ground units to be used for detection of contaminants and actual cleaning work, and it wants bots transportable by light and medium tactical vehicles (i.e., trucks, not armored units like the Stryker or a Humvee).
[5]
Since this is just an RFI, there's no indication if or when the Army might acquire ADS units, or which it might select from the ones presented - if any. The filing notes the branch isn't asking for pricing or other details and is just seeking information about the feasibility of such tech.
We reached out to the Army to learn more about ADS, including whether it's something the Army is definitely planning to develop and on what timeline, but didn't immediately hear back.
The fact that the Army is seeking autonomous CBRN cleanup units makes perfect sense given the warnings presented by AI experts in recent years.
[6]Google torpedoes 'no AI for weapons' rules
[7]The launch of ChatGPT polluted the world forever, like the first atomic weapons tests
[8]Proliferation of AI weapons among non-state actors 'could be impossible to stop'
[9]Anduril picks Ohio for 5 million square foot autonomous weapon factory
Pharmaceutical researchers said in 2022 that AI algorithms used to generate therapeutic drugs could [10]easily be tweaked to produce bioweapons, and last year Stanford bioengineers used a synthetic AI-generated bacteriophage that was able to modify E. coli bacteria into a f [11]a more infectious form.
Speaking to Congress in 2023, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicted that AI like the ones his company makes would be advanced enough to develop bioweapons in as little as two or three years. In other words, by 2026 or so.
[12]
"Today, certain steps in the use of biology to create harm involve knowledge that cannot be found on Google or in textbooks and requires a high level of specialized expertise," Amodei told Senators. "If we don't have things in place that are restraining what can be done with AI systems, we're going to have a really bad time."
That was three years ago, and it's safe to say [13]little to no progress has been made in reining in the threats posed by malicious AI since then. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/724eac53a4044cebbb3e7a017830078b/view
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[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/05/google_ai_principles_update/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/15/ai_model_collapse_pollution/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/21/ai_enhanced_weapons/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/16/anduril_auto_weapon_factory/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/18/ai_weapons_learning/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/18/researchers_just_created_a_working/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aYPPkwAQanmuuJtwtrLagAAAAYg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/12/trump_eo_state_ai/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The Army recently [1]published a Request For Information on Autonomous Decontamination Systems (ADS) to see what might be out there in the existing commercial market to help its Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) troops more easily clean up contaminated vehicles, infrastructure, and terrain.
"ADS will reduce manpower and optimize resources required for decontamination operations while mitigating the risk of exposure of warfighters to Chemical and Biological Warfare Agents through robotic means," the Army said in its RFI.
[2]
The Army sees its auto-decontamination machines fitting into platoon-sized groups (40 soldiers or so), where they'll be able to conduct full cleaning cycles, spraying decontaminants and rinsing objects with water. The branch is also looking for ADS to be capable of "precision contamination mapping" using "surface indication technologies to identify, digitize, and track the contamination footprint" as well as "post-decontamination assessment."
[3]
[4]
In short, the Army wants to get its CBRN troops out of harm's way and leave the dirty work to the bots.
The RFI notes that the Army is seeking tethered and untethered drones to serve as part of ADS, with aerial and ground units to be used for detection of contaminants and actual cleaning work, and it wants bots transportable by light and medium tactical vehicles (i.e., trucks, not armored units like the Stryker or a Humvee).
[5]
Since this is just an RFI, there's no indication if or when the Army might acquire ADS units, or which it might select from the ones presented - if any. The filing notes the branch isn't asking for pricing or other details and is just seeking information about the feasibility of such tech.
We reached out to the Army to learn more about ADS, including whether it's something the Army is definitely planning to develop and on what timeline, but didn't immediately hear back.
The fact that the Army is seeking autonomous CBRN cleanup units makes perfect sense given the warnings presented by AI experts in recent years.
[6]Google torpedoes 'no AI for weapons' rules
[7]The launch of ChatGPT polluted the world forever, like the first atomic weapons tests
[8]Proliferation of AI weapons among non-state actors 'could be impossible to stop'
[9]Anduril picks Ohio for 5 million square foot autonomous weapon factory
Pharmaceutical researchers said in 2022 that AI algorithms used to generate therapeutic drugs could [10]easily be tweaked to produce bioweapons, and last year Stanford bioengineers used a synthetic AI-generated bacteriophage that was able to modify E. coli bacteria into a f [11]a more infectious form.
Speaking to Congress in 2023, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicted that AI like the ones his company makes would be advanced enough to develop bioweapons in as little as two or three years. In other words, by 2026 or so.
[12]
"Today, certain steps in the use of biology to create harm involve knowledge that cannot be found on Google or in textbooks and requires a high level of specialized expertise," Amodei told Senators. "If we don't have things in place that are restraining what can be done with AI systems, we're going to have a really bad time."
That was three years ago, and it's safe to say [13]little to no progress has been made in reining in the threats posed by malicious AI since then. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/724eac53a4044cebbb3e7a017830078b/view
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aYPPkwAQanmuuJtwtrLagAAAAYg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/05/google_ai_principles_update/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/15/ai_model_collapse_pollution/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/21/ai_enhanced_weapons/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/16/anduril_auto_weapon_factory/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/18/ai_weapons_learning/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/18/researchers_just_created_a_working/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aYPPkwAQanmuuJtwtrLagAAAAYg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/12/trump_eo_state_ai/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Throatwarbler Mangrove
A drone does not need to be airborne. You can have strictly terrestrial or undersea drones as well.
Also, TIL that a Humvee is considered an armored vehicle, a revelation I'm sure will come as a surprise to the troops using them (the non-Frankenstein versions, anyway).
Woke
Yet Another Anonymous coward
Claims that chemicals and viruses are bad for you is just woke rubbish.
Real men breath phosgene and vaccines are a Democrat plot, and anyway Smallpox is just like a cold and only affects the weak and unmanly
Re: Woke
Excused Boots
I see this got downvoted already.. There needs to be a much more obvious ‘sarcasm’ tag, just to help the hard of thinking!
EvilDrSmith
Well, there is a 'heavy Hmmwv' M1114 that was developed in the 1990's (?) that is armoured (though being a left-pondian vehicle, I should probably say 'armored'), but we're talking bullet proof/resistant and protected against IED's rather than anything heavier - so comparable to the Humber Pig, not an M1A2
Excused Boots
Well yes, the term is fairly meaningless isn't it? Hypothetically, someone sufficiently motivated could make a IED capable of taking out a Abrams main battle tank. Unlikely but not impossible.
So ‘armoured' (armored), just means what you think it does. Proof against small arms fire (but then define small arms).
"drones"?
Those things with propellers that are ideal for wafting CBRN contaminants all over the place?