Creepy four-legged robot, usually only seen in dystopian movies, takes to the streets of Australia – and ‘Spot’ costs agents $350,000
WA Police Revealed They Bought A $350,000 Robot Dog To Join Its Ranks
The robot will help disarm explosives as part of its tactical response unit
A similar model was leased by the NYPD in 2020 but was quickly dumped
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A robotic dog usually only seen in dystopian science fiction movies is the newest member of an Australian police force, costing a whopping $350,000.
Western Australia Police unveiled the robot dubbed ‘Spot’ at a media event this week, revealing that it would join the Tactical Response Group tasked with investigating and disarming explosives.
Developed by US-based Boston Dynamics, the technology is the inspiration for similar robots that have appeared on screen — including in a chilling Black Mirror episode where they murder the human race and the 2019 War of The Worlds series.
The fake dog will take on a reconnaissance role rather than actively disarming bombs, with its four legs allowing it to move over terrain that traditional wheeled or tracked robots cannot access.
WA Police on Tuesday unveiled the robot dog as their newest recruit (pictured)
The robot has an extendable arm instead of a neck and a gripper for a mouth – allowing it to drag suspicious devices to safer areas or move obstacles for a closer look.
“The TRG’s most valuable asset when dealing with a bomb or other explosive device is its people,” said WA Police Minister Paul Papalia.
“As a former Navy diver working with bombs and other explosive munitions in places like Iraq, I can confidently say that this technology has the potential to save the lives of people in our community and help protect our officers.
“Anything we can do to protect them and keep them further away from danger is a good thing.”
WA’s new Police Commissioner Col Blanch justified the hefty price tag, saying the “latest technology” was worth it, despite bombs being “rare” in the state.
“This is not a tool for day-to-day policing and will only be used in situations where it contributes to the safety of our TRG officers,” he said.
The WA Police Department’s announcement of the robot dog follows images surfaced a few days ago of a similar robot dog with a large gun accurately firing at distant targets in Russia.
Western Australia isn’t the first police force to get one of the mechanical canines, and the New York City Police Department is hiring one in 2020.
But the robot was dumped about a year later after backlash from the public and some government officials over its cost (then $750,000) and civil liberties concerns.
The robot (pictured) will join the Tactical Response Group in charge of disarming explosives
David J. Gunkel, a professor of communications at Northern Illinois University, said: Scientific American the NYPD’s choice to lease the dog amid increased surveillance related to Black Lives Matter, #defundthepolice and anti-Covid lockdown movements was tone deaf.
“If you’ve seen the robot, it’s quite imposing,” he said.
“It’s slightly smaller than the robots you see in science fiction. But the way it navigates gives it a very imposing profile that could be considered eerie by many human observers.”
In particular, he said deploying the robot in an incident in a residential block was questionable.
“Using the robot in that place, I think, was a very bad choice by the NYPD because you’re already talking about police officers entering a public housing building, now with this huge technological object, and that [exacerbates the] very large power imbalance that already exists.’
The technology developed by Boston Dynamics was purchased for $350,000 by WA Police