Photograph courtesy of Boston Dynamics.
While President-Elect Trump is not known for being a pet-lover—he’s one of only four US Presidents to not bring a furry friend to the White House—he might be protected by robot dogs come January.
After two assassination attempts and an Iranian murder-for-hire plot, Trump’s team is bolstering security as he gears up to move back to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. As part of that effort, his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, is crawling with robo-Rovers from the Secret Service. The bots can be equipped with thermal technology to detect chemical threats and bombs.
Washingtonians may have already noticed the robot canines stalking around downtown DC, as the Secret Service rolled them out in July. Named “Spot – the Agile Mobile Robot,” the bots are a product of Boston Dynamics, an MIT-spinoff engineering and robotics company known for its eye-catching demo videos. Spot models have a number of jobs outside of security services, including maintenance and operational tasks in various warehouses around the country.
“Boston Dynamics is proud to support the United States Secret Service in deploying our Spot robot,” Boston Dynamics said in a statement to Washingtonian. “In general, Spot keeps people out of harm’s way and is used in a wide variety of public safety tasks.”
Spot is a part of the USSS’ Autonomous Systems and Technical Robotic Operation (ASTRO) to enhance security operations with new technology. “While we cannot discuss specific capabilities out of concern for operational security, the Secret Service does have robotic dogs that are equipped with surveillance technology and an array of advanced sensors that are used to support our protective operations,” Anthony Guglielmi, USSS Chief of Communications, said in a statement to Washingtonian.
If robot dogs do play a role in surveillance around the White House, they won’t take over completely for Secret Service officers. The ones at Mar-a-Lago appear to be accompanied by an officer, watching over man’s best robotic friend.
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