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posted by martyb on Wednesday November 27 2019, @05:22AM   Printer-friendly
from the run-spot-run dept.

It's Official: Police Are Testing Out Boston Dynamics' Robot Dog

"All too often, the deployment of these technologies happens faster than our social, political, or legal systems react."

Dogs have served alongside police officers for decades, sometimes even sacrificing their own lives in order to save their human partners. Robots are a fixture of law enforcement, too, most notably in bomb situations.

But now, a police force in the United States has tested the capabilities of a robot dog for the first time — and civil liberties experts are raising the alarm.

According to documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts State Police leased a Spot robot dog from Boston Dynamics for 90 days ending on November 5, 2019.

[...] police spokesman David Procopio told WBUR that the agency used Spot the same way it did other robots: as a "mobile remote observation device."

"Robot technology is a valuable tool for law enforcement," he said, "because of its ability to provide situational awareness of potentially dangerous environments."

However, he didn't share any exact details on how agency tested Spot or expand on the two incidents during which police told WBUR they used the robot outside of testing.

No need to be concerned that police would blame things on the robot, such as excessive force, injuries or death.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 27 2019, @09:14AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 27 2019, @09:14AM (#925292)

    It doesn't seem that useful without a weapon.

    You don't want to use it if there are hostages.

    You can get plenty of information about the suspect's location using infrared technologies.

    You don't want to send it as a suicide bomber because it costs too much. That's a sizeable investment for an extrajudicial killing.

    Other companies already have bots for disarming bombs.

    I guess you have it break open a door, find the suspect, then swarm cops in after it if there is no gun. The choices are to try the door knob, break the door down, or have some kind of lockpick attachment.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by choose another one on Wednesday November 27 2019, @10:35AM

    by choose another one (515) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday November 27 2019, @10:35AM (#925300)

    > Other companies already have bots for disarming bombs.

    The police already have bots for disarming bombs
    They have already used those same bots as weapon platforms (e.g. https://mashable.com/2016/07/08/dallas-police-shooting-robot-analysis [mashable.com] )
    They also already have drones for observation
    They also already have plenty of tools for breaking down doors

    Real question is not why do they need a new tool to do same job, but why if they already have all this stuff is there now concern about "deployment of these technologies happens faster than our social, political, or legal systems react". Seems to me someones getting triggered just because the new tool happens to look like a dog (if you're drunk, stoned, been hit on the head and lost your glasses).

    Or maybe it's really the police dog union behind the concern...

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Wednesday November 27 2019, @02:54PM (1 child)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday November 27 2019, @02:54PM (#925345) Journal

    It doesn't seem that useful without a weapon.

    Now equipped with the super strength gripper for FREE1!

    But nope, it's not a weapon. No. Nosiree!

    1The super strength gripper option is free, but incurs a $6500 additional processing fee.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 28 2019, @04:59AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 28 2019, @04:59AM (#925561)

      It's not a weapon. It's an aggressive sex toy.