Ukrainian soldiers use consoles Steam Deck for remote tower control where you can mount everything from machine guns to assault rifles. This control system from portable video game consoles is part of a project called “Sabre”, funded by the company crowdfunding when Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014.

The war in Ukraine continues on the ground and in cyberspace. The dead, injured and displaced number in the tens of thousands of people involved in the illegal and unjust invasion, which is also affecting the global economy and delaying the expected recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. With far fewer resources than the Russian aggressor, despite international aid, Ukrainian soldiers are finding “creative” solutions to fight the invasion.

Steam Deck was a shock to the segment of portable gaming machines, but it was also not expected to be used as a “weapon” in war. Ukrainian news portal TPO Media reported on its Facebook page about the deployment of a new version of the ‘Sabre’ system, which is now controlled by Valve’s handheld console.

The Saber allows soldiers to engage the enemy from a distance, with turrets placed at checkpoints and other strategic locations. It can handle a wide variety of calibers, from light machine guns or heavier anti-tank grenades to AK-47 assault rifles. They use solenoid triggers for remote firing, have new optics on the front and are controlled via Steam Decks.

This type of automatic turrets is not new and has been seen in Korea or Israel with the program smart shooter which uses artificial intelligence and dedicated drivers. It is obvious that the great advantage of all of them is the ability to avoid enemy fire and thus “to save lives because the soldiers will not be so exposed to fire”they explain.

Another curiosity of this project is that it was born crowdfunding. A method used by Ukraine to fund anything from buying drones to building hospitals. One of the most popular financial sites is The People’s Project, and that’s where Saber was born in 2014, when Russia invaded Crimea. The system expands in the number of deployments, improves with more advanced optics and the Steam Deck as a control device. We would never have thought of it, but the budget is compelling and it’s much cheaper than using specialized military controllers.