Los Angeles City Council Approves ‘Robot Dog’ Donation to Police

A four-legged “robot dog” has become a new member of the Los Angeles Police Department after the city council voted to approve its acquisition on Tuesday.

The robot, called Spot, is a quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicle manufactured by Boston Dynamics and priced at about $280,000.

The Spot was first offered by the Los Angeles Police Foundation as a gift to the LAPD urban community. March. The foundation is a nonprofit that, according to its website, has “granted more than $44 million in grants to the Los Angeles Police Department” since 1998.

The LAPD says the robot will be used in a limited number of scenarios, including “incidents involving shooters, explosives evaluations, hostage-takings, natural disasters, hazardous materials evaluations, suspect lockouts, and search-and-rescue missions.” said.

Officials say Spot will not have any weapons systems, facial recognition software or analytics. It is also not used for routine patrol missions or covert surveillance operations.

But some critics fear the robot could be used to spy on and target people in poor communities of color.

The Los Angeles Police Department’s acquisition of Spot follows similar moves by other law enforcement agencies, including police. new york city police, Massachusetts State Police, St. Petersburg, Florida Police, etc.

Officials said the LAPD plans to begin using the robots in the next few months following training and testing procedures.

LAPD Chief Michael Moore said in a statement: “We are grateful that today the majority of the City Council approved the acceptance of donations from the Los Angeles Police Foundation for the purchase of this state-of-the-art mechanical robot.” rice field. “This technology will allow us to better protect our police officers and communities, and use the latest technology to mitigate dangerous situations.”