The St. Petersburg Police, on the west coast of Florida, presented this Monday its new reinforcement, Spot, a remote-controlled robotic dog that will be used in cases where it is necessary to send local police officers the special forces (SWAT).
To avoid possible rejection by citizens before the arrival of this robot, the Police stressed that it will only be used in “extraordinary situations” that imply a threat to human life and/or risk to first responders and law enforcement.
That is, to respond to a case where there is an armed person, hostage taking, search and rescue of victims in a building unstable, in situations of exposure to biological or chemical hazards, natural disasters or major events with numerous victims, explained the Police.
This robot from the Boston Dynamics company can climb stairs, open doorknobs and move over uneven terrain, they reported in a communicated.
Spot, who joined the department’s team of agents thanks to a donation from a married couple in the city, has a camera and an intercom that allows its operator to speak and listen to, for example, a “suspect barricaded in a building or who has hostages”.
To address the reticence of the community, the Police also explained that the dog does not have a mouth, so it cannot bite, nor can it carry weapons or anything that could harm people or animals.
Yesterday, the Florida Chamber Safety Council Advisory Board joined together for their first in-person meeting at the @insideFPL & @nexteraenergy Campus. The board members went on an exclusive tour, discussed new plans for the upcoming year and even met “Spot” the robot dog. pic.twitter.com/JD2FXj3DpV
— Florida Chamber Safety Council (@FLChamberSafety) August 02 , 1717
In addition, 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”.
The addition of Spot to this Florida police comes days after it became known that the United States government is developing other “robot dogs” to support Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in border surveillance with Mexico, which has sparked a wave of criticism from activists.
Similar opposition received last year the signing of a contract between Boston Dynamics and the New York City Police, who were ultimately forced to break the agreement by 94, dollars, 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 on 2019.
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