WTF?! In what is yet another example of the world moving ever closer to a Black Mirror-style dystopia, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that it plans to use robot dogs in raids. Rather than being loaded with lethal weapons, the robots will be used to overload home networks, to provide video and audio of the scene, and to communicate with humans.
Unveiled during the 2024 Border Security Expo, it’s easy to mistake robotic quadruped NEO for Boston Dynamics Spot or Xiaomi’s CyberDog.
NEO, built using the Quadruped Unmanned Ground Vehicle (Q-UGV), can do more than just dance. DHS Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) director Benjamine Huffman said (via 404 Media) that it is equipped with an onboard computer and antenna array for disabling internet-connected devices that could potentially cause harm during a raid. Huffman said NEO allows officers to create a “denial-of-service” event.
The kind of devices NEO was specifically built to take out are wireless home cameras. Its creation was prompted by an incident in which a child sexual abuse suspect used a Ring doorbell to see that FBI officers were at the door serving a search warrant. He then shot two of them through the door with an assault-style weapon, killing both the veteran agents and injuring three others.
NEO can also be used to communicate with human subjects in the area, presumably to broadcast Robocop-style warnings to surrender. Its camera and microphone provide video and audio feeds to agents, allowing them to analyze a scene before entering. This sounds similar to the abilities that drones are now offering many police forces across the country.
Robot dogs increasingly moving closer to the one from Black Mirror’s Metalhead or the alien robots from the War of the Worlds series. We’ve seen one with a rifle strapped to its back being used by the Chinese military, while the US Marines showed one off last year that was carrying a rocket launcher. If you have a spare $9,420, you can even buy one yourself, a model that packs a flamethrower capable of projecting fiery gasoline or napalm up to 30 feet.
