PSLPD: Robotic canine enters buildings to 'clear' them before police go in
PORT ST. LUCIE − A day after a robotic dog was used in a Special Weapons And Tactics team operation, police showed off the new surveillance technology intended to reveal hidden dangers or people hiding in homes or buildings during standoffs or hostage situations.
The dog-like device was navigated through a residence in the 600 block of Southeast Preston Lane Wednesday to “clear” the building before SWAT officers searched it, following the arrest of a man on over a dozen drug-related charges.
Its front- and back-facing cameras showed SWAT unit officers waiting outside views of the home's interior and allowed them to see before entering if there were traps or possibly others hiding inside, said Port St. Lucie Police Department officials at a Thursday news conference.
“Any time we have to put a live police officer into a building we could do it more safely using this robotic canine to search the building first, before we put an actual police officer’s life in danger,” said Acting Police Chief Richard Del Toro Jr.
Detective Kevin Fry operated the Unitree Go2 Thursday to show its capabilities, which he said are primarily for searching and observation as the agency does with its other drones in “any type of hostile environment.”
It can run, jump, crawl, turn itself right-side up after a fall or even regain balance if kicked, which Fry said would result in an additional criminal charge against the person kicking it.
The device can play a pre-recorded message and map out its surroundings through a front light detection and ranging sensor, known as LIDAR.
Fry said police would “deploy robotics, drones, any type of technology into … unknown areas before we would want to send in a responding officer ...”
As with other drone technology, additional features can be added allowing the operator to communicate in real-time through a speaker.
The department is planning to outfit it with a forward-looking infrared camera, or FLIR, to sense heat signatures in dark settings.
“We do have drones that do certain things like break windows and other types of operations and we’re constantly updating our policies to reflect what we can and can’t do,” Del Toro said. “Right now, it’s just for searching and clearing and as more technology becomes available, we’ll look at other ways we can utilize it, but right now we’re not utilizing it in any way with any type of use of force…”
With two batteries the “canine” can observe roughly four to six hours, Fry said.
“This is Robocop becoming a reality,” Del Toro said.
“It’s just going to make our high-risk incidents much more safer for our officers, which is our goal.”
The $25,000 device was purchased through a Justice Assistance Grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, which Del Toro said was a federal grant “we get each and every single year.”
Del Toro said if the opportunity arose to obtain additional robotic dog(s), he would seek more of the devices for the department.
Sgt. Matt Reynolds spoke about possible security concerns related to the technology.
“While this is a Chinese manufactured product, all the interface is U.S.-based,” said Reynolds.
The device was purchased through Missouri-based Stokes Robotics, which he said, “scrubbed the Chinese software package,” and replaced it with U.S.-based software.
More: Troy V. Garrett arrested on federal charges related U.S. Capitol breach on Jan. 6, 2021
More: Commuter St. Lucie Express $3 bus trips to West Palm Beach coming in September
More: Man dies following hit-run crash in Fort Pierce; suspect in police custody
Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers. Follow @coreyarwood on X, email corey.arwood@tcpalm.com or call 772-978-2246.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: PSLPD: Robotic canine enters buildings to 'clear' them before police go in
