LIG Nex1, a South Korean maker of electronic warfare and communications equipment, says it has paid $240 million for a 60% controlling stake in Ghost Robotics, a Philadelphia-based developer of the Vision 60 dog-like four-legged robots used by the military and law enforcement.

Ghost's 62 employees, including chief executive Gavin Kenneally and chief technology officer Avik De who cofounded Ghost with the late Jiren Navendra Parikh at the University of Pennsylvania in 2015, will remain based at Ghost's Philadelphia headquarters. They "will continue to manage the business in their current roles," said Michael J. Subhan, chief marketing officer, in an email.

"We look forward to future expansion" as part of LIG Nex1, Subhan said. More than 450 Vision 60 Q-UGV robots have been sold. Military clients include U.S., South Korean, and Japanese forces, and other users include private groups on behalf of Israeli forces, according to trade journals and other published accounts, which Subhan confirmed.

The company says these robot dogs weigh around 112 pounds and can carry 22 pounds. They can be assembled in the field in 15 minutes, sprint up to three meters a second, and move up to six miles (or for three hours) on a single battery charge.

According to Ghost, they are made to be used for perimeter security; to help cope with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats; bomb disposal; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; and for industrial, search-and-rescue and public-safety applications. Some users have fit them with guns.

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