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By Catalina Gaitán Seattle Times staff reporter The Seattle Police Department bought a $360,000 doglike robot to add to the bomb squad’s arsenal, but it’s unclear how often they’ll need to use it — or the second they plan to buy by the end of the year. The Radeco “Spot” robot designed by Boston Dynamics walks on four legs, livestreams video via a 360-degree camera and has an arm that can grab, lift and carry things. In a blog post this week, the department said the device is a “whole lot cooler than you can imagine,” including being lighter, nimbler and easier to move than the bomb squad’s older robots, which move on treads. Police spokesperson Detective Shane Weatherford said the department got the robot dog sometime before the summer’s FIFA World Cup. Plans to buy a second one are already “in the works,” he said. The device joined the squad’s existing fleet of five robots, which police have used for years when responding to bomb threats or potentially explosive or hazardous objects. Instead of sending an officer to handle suspicious objects, police have used their remote-controlled robots to do the risky work. Police spokespeople did not say what sparked the decision to invest in a robot dog, or why the department needs two. The department’s blog post provided little detail on how it’s been used so far. Like “Spot,” all of the squad’s other robots transmit camera feeds to their operators and have “manipulator arms” that can touch potentially dangerous devices and render them safe, according to police policy. Bomb squad encounters with real explosives appear rare. Police 911 dispatch data shows reports of explosions and bomb threats this year were down 28% through October compared with the same period last year, from 73 to 53. Of the two “critical” bomb threats the unit responded to so far this year, neither involved an explosive. In the post, Seattle police said the robot dog has capabilities the bomb squad’s other robots lack and that are “needed” to address “modern threats and infrastructure.” Police officials said the device would address unspecified “critical gaps” in equipment needed for detecting dangerous objects and preventing terrorism, according to a city record. The Police Department’s post does not specify what modern threats or infrastructure it needs to address, or say whether the other robots have ever failed to perform necessary tasks. The agency highlighted a few possible advantages. Unlike their treaded counterparts, the robot dog can walk up and down stairs, more easily navigate tight spaces and open a door by grasping and turning its handle. But the department did not say if its bomb squad has needed a robot to perform those tasks. The robot dog is also easier to move than the bomb squad’s “primary robot.” That device weighs more than 100 pounds and must be transported in a “mobile workshop” parked in the Sodo neighborhood, while the robot dog weighs less than 100 pounds and can be carried in the back of a pickup, according to the post. The Police Department has not said how it will pay for the second robot dog. The agency paid for its first robot dog using money from the city’s general fund and a “port security” grant it received last year from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The total price for the robot dog was more than $362,000, including about $3,000 in related personnel costs, city records show. The FEMA grant helped Seattle police buy $1.2 million in new police equipment, including the robot dog, an $824,000 patrol boat and six communication devices, each costing about $4,000. Under the grant requirements, FEMA offered to pay 75% of the overall budget, with Seattle paying the rest — about $304,000. On April 14, the City Council unanimously approved authorizing the city to use millions in noncity funding it had received since adopting the last budget, including the FEMA grant. Council members did not discuss the robot dog — which appears just briefly in the package — or the $304,000 the city would have to pay to fulfill the grant. Seattle’s information technology department finished a review three days later of the robot dog, which was required to be assessed for potential privacy and security risks under the city’s 2017 surveillance ordinance. The report found the robot dog was capable of collecting personally identifiable data but said its surveillance capabilities were covered by a Police Department policy approved in 2023 by the City Council. Police agencies have increasingly adopted the “Spot” devices in recent years, for a variety of purposes. In a news release last year, the Portland Police Bureau announced it acquired a robot dog, saying it would give police “additional options” but would not replace their other robots or K9s. Boston Dynamics, a Massachusetts-based engineering firm, came under scrutiny in September after agreeing to sell $1.3 million of its “Spot” devices to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Dozens of the firm’s employees signed a petition urging company executives to stop the sale, saying their technology — “some of the world’s most intelligent and advanced machines” — should not be used by an agency that “brutalizes citizens,” according to copies of the petition shared with The Boston Globe and WBUR. submitted by /u/chromeled |
