As an assumed geek, the mayor of the Big Apple has always sided with technology. He is firmly convinced that the latter will bring a lot to the city, at all levels, including security. Faithful to his vision of things, he officially announces the introduction of robot dogs in the New York police. Unsurprisingly, the decision immediately sparked controversy.
New York police: robot dogs already tested in 2021
Last week, Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, officially reintroduced robot dogs to the New York police force. baptized Digital (this is Spot, the robot dog developed by Boston Dynamics), these robots are now part of the NYPD’s equipment, despite the bitter failure of the first attempt.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams unveiled the ‘Digidog’ and ‘K-5’ robots – the newest members of the NYPD.
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His predecessor, former mayor Bill de Blasio, has already tried the experiment. But the attempt was cut short following a particularly virulent popular uprising. Citizens regard this measure as too aggressive. This time, the mayor remains intransigent. He explains that these robots will come support or even replace agents in particularly dangerous situations.
Police officers are often faced with dangerous situations such as inspecting a bomb, searching a collapsed or burning building, negotiating with armed gangs… This is the whole point of robotics. “It’s a smart way to use good technology,” says the NY mayor.
Harnessing technology to protect a modern city
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell supports the initiative and says the use of this technology will be completely transparent. In other words, the institution will respect all the regulations in force concerning privacy and confidentiality.
In addition to the robot dogs, the New York police are deploying two other security robots, including a tracker. This will allow the police to launch a gps beacon on a stolen car. Officers can then easily geolocate the vehicle.
Knightscope’s K5 ASR intelligence-gathering robots, fully autonomous outdoor security robots, complete the range. The mayor of New York admits to being aware of the reluctance of the population, but maintains the deployment of robot dogs. He wouldn’t give in to the pressure, he said.
Novelty can sometimes be scary, say hi-tech experts. Whether or not these robots are accepted by the citizens of New York largely depends on how things are presented to them. The reactions would certainly have been different if Digidog had been featured saving someone from a fire. Will New Yorkers end up accepting this new attempt? ? To have.
