NYPD Brings Back Controversial Robot Dog For ‘Life-Threatening’ Missions

Digidog, the remote-controlled four-legged robot the New York Police Department deployed in 2020 and 2021, is being brought back, The New York Times reports(Opens in a new window).

At a press conference(Opens in a new window) in Times Square earlier this week announcing the $750,000 move to acquire two of the robot police helpers, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said “Digidog is out of the pound.”

Speaking about the Digidog re-enlistment, which has been attacked by civil rights and police watchdogs, Adams said it can “save lives.” The mayor added: “I believe that technology is here; we cannot be afraid of it. A few loud people were opposed to it, we took a step back [but] that is not how I operate. I operate on looking at what’s best for the city.”

The robodogs, also called Spot, will reportedly only be used in dangerous situations like bomb threats, and inspections in tricky areas that pose a risk to the lives of police officers. Its maker, Hyundai’s Boston Dynamics, however, markets it as a public safety tool that could be used in diverse situations. 

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As The Verge notes(Opens in a new window), the NYPD last used the Digidog in 2021 during a home invasion in order to find out what was happening inside the burglarized house. The NYPD also used it in 2020 for reconnaissance in a situation where a gunman was barricaded inside a building. In August 2021, the New York Police Department canceled its Digidog trial after being on the receiving end of harsh criticism from civil rights groups. 

That criticism continues today. In a public statement(Opens in a new window) slamming the move to reinstate the robot dogs, Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP), said: “The NYPD is turning bad science fiction into terrible policing. New York deserves real safety, not a knockoff robocop. Wasting public dollars to invade New Yorkers’ privacy is a dangerous police stunt.”

In more potentially startling news, the NYPD further announced it would pilot a handheld or car-mounted robotic launcher that shoots GPS tags onto vehicles involved in a police chase. The Times also said the police force would pilot a “fully autonomous outdoor security robot” called K5 ASR in order to collect intelligence.