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A robotic dog that costs a stunning $350,000 and is typically only seen in dystopian science fiction movies is the newest addition to an Australian police squad.
At a media event this week, Western Australia Police presented the robot dubbed “Spot,” stating that it will work with the Tactical Response Group, which is entrusted with examining and disarming explosives.
The robots that have appeared on television, such in the 2019 series War of the Worlds and a horrifying Black Mirror episode where they destroy the human race, are based on technology created by the US company Boston Dynamics.
The faux dog’s four legs allow it to go over terrain that standard wheeled or tracked robots can’t reach, acting in a reconnaissance capacity rather than actively disarming bombs.
The robot has a grabbing tool for a mouth and an extending arm in place of a neck, enabling it to transfer suspect objects to safer locations or move obstacles for a closer look.
The people are the TRG’s most precious resource when dealing with a bomb or other explosive device, according to WA Police Minister Paul Papalia.
I can say with certainty that this technology has the potential to save the lives of members of our community and to aid in ensuring the safety of our officers since I was a former Navy clearance diver who dealt with bombs and other explosive objects in locations like Iraq.
Anything we can do to safeguard them and keep them away from peril is a good thing, according to the saying.
Despite bombings being “unusual” in the state, the ‘latest technology’ was worth the steep price tag, according to Col. Blanch, the new WA Police Commissioner.
This is not a tool for routine law enforcement, he stressed, and it will only be utilised when it helps to keep our TRG officers safe.
Following video that surfaced just days earlier showing a similar robot dog fitted with a powerful pistol and accurately shooting targets at a range in Russia, WA Police announced the existence of a robot dog.
The New York City Police Department will lease one of the robot canines in 2020, thus Western Australia is not the first police force to get one.
But after criticism from the public and certain government officials regarding the robot’s expense (at the time, $750,000) and civil rights concerns, it was abandoned about a year later.
Professor of communication David J. Gunkel of Northern Illinois University told Scientific American that the NYPD made a tone-deaf decision to lease the dog in the face of growing scrutiny related to the Black Lives Matter, #defundthepolice, and anti-Covid lockdown movements.
If you’ve seen it, the robot has a really imposing presence, he said.
It’s not quite as large as robots from science fiction. However, the way it moves gives it this really imposing profile that many people may find disturbing.
He said that it was dubious to use the robot in an event at a housing complex in particular.
“I think the use of the robot in that location was a really poor choice on the part of the NYPD because you’re already talking about police officers entering a public housing facility, now with this massive technological object, and that [exacerbates the] very big power imbalance that’s already there,” the author said.