What to know about Spot, the robotic dog helping US police departments

March 28, 2024

34 3 minutes read

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A police robot dog was shot for the first time this month, the latest sign that the robots are taking bullets and tasks from the mundane to the dangerous.

The Massachusetts State Police recently deployed a Spot robot on March 6 during a seven-hour standoff. The department sent the dog into a home with an armed 30-year-old man who moments earlier had allegedly held his mom at knifepoint. The suspect would shoot the robot three times, partially disabling it, the Barnstable Police Department in Hyannis said in a Facebook post.

State police said deploying “Roscoe,” the name given to the Spot robot used in the standoff, may have saved officers’ and real dogs’ lives during the incident.

“In addition to providing critically important room clearance and situational awareness capabilities, the insertion of Roscoe into the suspect residence prevented the need, at that stage of response, from inserting human operators and a real dog, and may have prevented a police officer or K9 from being involved in an exchange of gunfire,” according to the Massachusetts State Police’s social media post.

SWAT took the suspect into custody without injury after using a “specialty ballistic vehicle with an attached demolition tool” to “forcibly encourage” the suspect to exit the home, Barnstable police said in its Facebook post. The suspect was subsequently charged with several counts of attempted murder and additional firearm offenses, the social media post continued.

A Spot robot had never been shot before this incident, Boston Dynamics told WBZ-TV.

“We are relieved that the only casualty that day was our robot,” the company said.

Spot robots becoming a go-to for law enforcement nationwide

Outfitted in NYPD’s blue and white colors, Digidogs have been employed in the city since 2023 to help “deescalate” situations, according to Mayor Eric Adams, WNBC reported. Law enforcement in Florida, Los Angeles and other states have been able to use the cybernetic hounds similarly.

Spot was deployed in Los Angeles during a standoff involving a suspect who dropped his gun, Brendan Schulman, vice president of policy and government relations at Boston Dynamics, said. The robot relayed footage of the discarded gun to officers on the scene, and police were able to apprehend the suspect, he said.
The kidnapping of a 3 year old in St. Petersburg, Florida prompted local police to use Spot. When the truck containing the child drove away and crashed on the highway, police deployed the robot to approach the vehicle before officers did to ensure the suspect did not have a gun, according to Schulman.

Boston Dynamics does not disclose the exact price of Spot due to the robots varying in cost on a case-by-case basis, according to Schulman. The company’s policy is strict in outlining what buyers can and cannot use the robots for, he added.

“We’ve been very proactive from the beginning of our commercial sales process to prohibit the weaponization of Spot or the use of the robot to harm or intimidate any person or animal,” Schulman said.

A Massachusetts bill backed primarily by Democrats, including state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, was filed in 2023 and aims at prohibiting robot manufacturers from equipping or including weapons in their machines. In November, Schulman testified in support of the bill.

Boston Dynamics offers additional attachments for its Spot robots, including Arm, a “power mobile manipulation robot with a fully integrated arm,” according to the company.

Atlas is a robot Boston Dynamics touts as the “world’s most dynamic humanoid.”

“Atlas is a research platform that allows us to push the limits of whole-body mobility and bimanual manipulation,” according to the Boston Dynamics site. “An advanced control system and state-of-the-art hardware give the robot the power and balance to demonstrate advanced athletics and agility.”

Knightscope, a California-headquartered security camera and robotics company, offers a range of stationary, indoor, outdoor and multi-terrain autonomous security robots.

“We use a unique combination of self-driving technology, robotics, artificial intelligence (A.I.) and electric ‘vehicles’ to provide humans with extra eyes, ears and a voice on the ground,” according to Knightscope’s site. “We can be in multiple locations at the same time, helping you protect the places people live, work, study and visit.”