You cannot bite or carry weapons or anything that could harm people or animals. But Spot, a robot dog that has been inducted into the St. Petersburg Police Department on Florida’s west coast, can climb stairs, open doors and navigate uneven terrain, which could come in handy in some situations.
The police made this Monday the presentation of its robotic dog, which works remotely, and will only be used in “extraordinary situations” that involve a threat to human life and / or risk to first aid teams and law enforcement. .
The robot has a camera and an intercom that allows its operator to talk to and listen to, for example, a “suspect barricaded in a building or holding hostages.”
In a statement, the St. Petersburg police detailed that Spot will be used to respond to a case where there is an armed person, hostage taking, search and rescue of victims in an unstable building, in situations of exposure to biological or chemical hazards, natural disasters or major events with numerous victims.
The police clarified that it will not be used in cases of crowd control, traffic stops, routine situations or to “intimidate or coerce” a person who is not involved in a “high-risk incident”.
Other departments have tried using robot dogs
Manufactured by the company Boston Dynamics, the robot dog was added to the team of special agents of the police department thanks to the donation of a married couple in the city.
The incorporation of Spot to this Florida police comes days after it became known that the Federal Government is developing other robot dogs to support the agents of the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the surveillance of the border with Mexico, which which has unleashed a wave of criticism from activists.
Similar opposition was received last year by the signing of a contract between Boston Dynamics and the New York City Police, who were ultimately forced to break the agreement for $94,000, according to local media reports.
The criticism didn’t stop the Massachusetts State Police from being the first in the country to test another issue of Spot in 2019.