By Rick Sobey
Boston Herald
DANVERS, Mass. — It’s not just K9s that respond to dangerous situations, including barricaded incidents, these days.
As seen in Danvers on Monday, Boston Dynamics’ Spot the robot dog was deployed by Massachusetts State Police at the shooting scene where a suspect was barricaded.
The Mass State Police has two Spot robotic platforms, which are used by the Bomb Squad.
“Troopers from the unit frequently deploy to barricaded suspects or potential hostage situations with either their SPOT robots or the more traditional PackBot-type robots,” a Mass State Police spokesperson said on Monday.
“The SPOT platform has to ability to open doors and climb up staircases, among other functions,” the spokesperson added.
Last year, the Bomb Squad responded to help MSP’s Special Tactical Operations Team or local tactical teams at 40 such incidents.
The robots were not deployed at all of the incidents, but were part of the overall MSP response package and were deployed if needed.
“These platforms, along with other types of technology such as camera systems, as well as our Air Wing helicopters and flight crews and our Drone Unit UAV pilots, give us the capability to surveil a barricaded suspect and provide situational awareness back to Troopers, Officers, and the incident commander in a safer manner than having personnel approach on the ground,” the MSP spokesperson said.
“Those capabilities can be crucial to officer safety and the successful resolution of a volatile incident,” the spokesperson added.
The Bomb Squad uses Spot to investigate suspicious packages and help secure areas where large crowds are expected, like ahead of Boston’s Independence Day celebration and at the Boston Marathon.
“Spot helps keep people out of harm’s way and aids first responders in assessing dangerous situations,” Boston Dynamics said in a statement.
“Additionally, we want to point out that any attempted weaponization of Boston Dynamics’ robots is strictly prohibited, as clearly outlined in our Terms and Conditions, our ethical principles, as well as in an open letter against weaponization, which was spearheaded by Boston Dynamics and co-signed by 5 other leading robotics companies,” Boston Dynamics later added. “We are also a sponsor of ‘An Act to ensure the responsible use of advanced robotic technologies,’ a bill introduced in Massachusetts that would ensure that advanced robotics are used ethically and safely. If passed, it would be the first piece of legislation of its kind enacted in the United States.”
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