The New York Police Department (NYPD) has posted a video of its new Spot robot dog roaming the Bronx earlier this week. The dog, renamed Digidog, is currently being tested and was deployed at a home invasion crime scene.
Early on Tuesday morning, the NYPD was responding to a home invasion in the Bronx. Police believed that the suspect barricaded themselves inside the house, prompting the hostage negotiation team and TARU teams to arrive on the scene.
The NYPD’s Digidog also made an appearance. The 70-pound “dog” is equipped with an array of sensors and cameras, which allows it to see and understand the environment around it. The NYPD has also equipped it with flashing lights and a large camera module on the top.
It appears to be a gimbaled camera that can be rotated 360 degrees and zoom in on subjects. It is unclear what the Digidog will be used for at this stage but keeping people out of harm’s way will definitely be at the top of the list.
Boston Dynamics lists Spot’s use cases as construction, oil, gas, electricity, mining, public safety and healthcare, research, and entertainment. A majority of these cases allow people to remove themselves from potentially dangerous situations by letting Spot remotely work for them. It is also interesting to see Spot being pitched for use in the entertainment industry.
Spot comes in three different versions, Explorer, Enterprise, and Academic. Explorer is the only model you can buy from the website directly and requires a $1,000 refundable deposit at checkout. It will also take six to eight weeks for Spot to be delivered. You have to be a business or educational institution to currently purchase Spot, and it is only available in the US store.
Spot starts at $74,500 with various upgrades and modules that can be purchased on top of that. With the Spot’s stock version, you get the robot itself, two battery packs, a charger, tablet controller, a case for Spot, and a power-case for the batteries.
Photo: NYPD
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