300 Boston Dynamics Workers Urge Halt to $1.3 Million ICE Robot Dog Deal
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · Oct 26
300 Boston Dynamics Workers Urge Halt to $1.3 Million ICE Robot Dog Deal
2 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Oct 26
Summary
More than 300 Boston Dynamics employees—about a fifth of its 1,400 staff—signed a petition urging executives to stop the sale of robot dogs to ICE, saying the reputational risk was too high.
Executives nevertheless stood by the deal and said the robots would not be weaponized, despite workers describing outside reactions from friends and family as disbelief and horror.
The Sept. 25 DHS contract awarded $1.3 million to Connecticut-based Radeco to supply ICE with four modified Boston Dynamics Spot robots marketed as Cerberus.
Those robots are slated for radiation, toxic-gas and explosive-threat detection, plus remote inspection in urban areas or disaster zones, with oxygen sensors, 30x zoom, 360-degree cameras and thermal imaging.