Dogs have been an integral part of the Department of Homeland Security for years, sniffing out explosive devices and other threats. Now they’re getting some cyber support.
The Department of Homeland Security has developed a quadrupedal robot that it plans to use in future raids. The agency has unveiled the new robotic agent In a speech At Border Security Expo 2024 in Texas.
The robotic dog, dubbed NEO, carries a modified antenna array that agents use to overload suspects’ home networks, disabling devices that rely on Wi-Fi to function, such as surveillance cameras and voice-activated digital assistants (which can operate other automated functions).
Robotic dogs can also act as another set of eyes and ears for customers, adding another layer of security.
“NEO can enter a potentially dangerous environment to provide audio and video feedback to officers prior to entry and allow them to communicate with those in that environment,” said Benjamin Hoffman, director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers. “NEO carries an onboard computer and antenna array that will allow officers the ability to create a ‘denial of service’ event to disable IoT devices that could potentially cause harm during entry.”
The idea of a robotic signal-scrambling dog was reportedly first considered after a 2021 incident in which a suspected child sex offender saw FBI agents preparing to enter his home through a doorbell camera and began shooting, killing two agents and wounding three others.
The Department of Homeland Security isn’t the only law enforcement agency using robotic dogs. The Massachusetts State Police credit a robotic dog with saving a person’s life when it approached a home where a man was trapped with guns. (One robotic dog was shot, but no officers were injured.)
“The incident provided a stark example of the benefits of mobile platforms capable of opening doors and climbing stairs in tactical missions involving armed suspects,” the state police said in a statement. “In addition to providing critical room evacuation and situational awareness capabilities, the introduction of Roscoe into the suspect’s residence prevented the need, at that point in the response, for human operators to be introduced, and potentially prevented a police officer from engaging in a gunfight.”
Other law enforcement officials’ encounters have been less positive. In 2021, the New York Police Department opted to house its robotic K9 units in pens after backlash from the community over privacy and overly aggressive displays of force.
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