Boston Dynamics’ Robot Spot, Becomes A Police Dog.
Will robots take people’s places? We don’t have a clear answer to this question for now, but of course, it’s not wrong to say that robots have slowly started their moves on this path. Robot Spot, one of the robots developed by Boston Dynamics, is being tested by the Massachusetts State Police in the United States for use in search missions as a police dog.
In addition, Massachusetts State Police became the first security organization to actively use robots in their missions.
Robot Spot, developed by Boston Dynamics.
US Police will use Boston Dynamics’ Robot Spot for search missions.
In almost all countries’ police organizations; dogs and robots are included in their inventory to make things easier and help the cops. But now the police will also have dog robots.
Massachusetts State Police plans to deploy the robot spot at the bomb disposal unit. So they aim to reduce the risk to the police on bomb destruction to zero.
In order to test their success on such missions for 90 days, Spot was loaned from Boston Dynamics.
The police robot dog Spot is planned to be used in bomb disposal and kidnap-hostage incidents.
The documents created while renting are not given much detailed information about the use of the robot dog.
A state police spokesman said the Robot Spot would be used as a mobile remote monitoring device like other robots in the police force, to give officers images of suspicious devices and the hiding place of an armed attacker.
Boston Dynamics vice president for business development Michael Perry says Spot wants different uses in many different sectors, including the oil-gas, construction and entertainment industries.
He stated that the police had foreseen that Spot should be sent to areas that are very dangerous for humans – a chemical leak, a suspected bomb or a hostage situation, and therefore the use of the police.
Will the Spot be armed?
It is a “general purpose” robot with a spot open-source API, a 360-degree low-light camera and an arm. This allows customers to use Spot in different areas in different ways. (As an operator in a police department or warehouse, etc.)
In other words, customers who purchase Spot can customize Spot with their own software. (Massachusetts State Police says they are not currently using this feature.)
For this reason, Robot Spot is currently under the pressure of the Civil Rights and Freedom Associations in the USA. Associations argue that the purpose of the robots to be used by police in the near future, including Spot, should be clearly stated. And they are right.
In these days when we wonder the answer to the question of whether artificial intelligence and robots are a threat to humanity, arming robots could make us painfully learn the answer to that question.
That’s why Boston Dynamics never wants the spot to be armed. Michael Perry states in his rental contracts that the robot has a clause that prevents it from being used “in a way that would physically harm or intimidate people.”
The spot is a “general purpose” robot with a spot open-source API, a 360-degree low-light camera and an arm.
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In addition, the authorities in the police organization, as a response to the reaction of associations; assured the public that all robots in their inventories, including the spot, are not armed in any way.
References:
- https://www.boston.com/news/technology/2019/11/25/mass-state-police-boston-dynamics
- https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/11/25/boston-dynamics-robot-dog-massachusetts-state-police
- https://www.bostondynamics.com/robots
