Achi news desk-
A robotic dog is being thanked by state police in Massachusetts for helping to avert a tragedy involving a person barricaded in a home.
The robotic dog named Roscoe was part of the Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad and was deployed on March 6 at a Barnstable home after police were fired upon. Police sent two other robots that are often used to dispose of a bomb into the house to find the suspect along with the robotic dog.
Remotely controlled by state troopers, he first checked the two main floors before finding someone in the basement. The person, with a rifle, beat the robotic dog twice before shooting it three times and disabling its communication.
The person then shot at one of the other robots and an outdoor swimming pool before police used tear gas and arrested them.
“The incident was a clear example of the benefits of mobile platforms that can open doors and ascend stairs in tactical missions involving armed suspects,” state police said in a statement. “In addition to providing room-clearing capabilities and critically important situational awareness, placing Roscoe in the suspect’s residence prevented the need, at that stage of response, to insert human operators, and could have prevented a police officer from engaging in an exchange of lighting a fire.”
Boston Dynamics, the company that made the robotic dog known as the SPOT robot, said in a statement that this was the first time one of them had been shot.
“We are proud that the only one injured that day was our robot,” the company said. “It’s a great example of how mobile robots like Spot can be used to save lives.”
Authorities have not identified the shooter or said what charges they face.
The robotic dog was sent to Boston Dynamics to dispose of the bullets. He will remain with the company and a new unit will be sent to the state police.
