If you've been feeling short of dystopias in these cute and simple times for everyone, here's another one already on the horizon: robot dogs on the US-Mexico border. Yes, it looks like "Metalhead", one of the most disturbing episodes of that masterpiece it is Black Mirror. It is not a series, however: it is a reality that is already attracting enormous criticism due to the already dehumanizing conditions of immigrants forced to cross such a manned border "by hook or by crook".
This week the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of the United States has announced the deployment of robot dogs to patrol the country's southern border with Mexico as part of its Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program.
The goal of the program, he said, is to leverage technology to increase the presence of deterrents at borders and reduce “human exposure to life-threatening risks.”
Robot dogs, other than parties
“The southern border can be a challenging environment for both humans and animals, which is why a machine can do a great job,” he says Brenda Long, program manager of the DHS Science and Technology Directorate, in a note that accompanied the announcement.
“This initiative led by US Directorate of Science and Technology focuses on automated ground surveillance vehicles, or what we call 'AGSVs'. In essence, the AGSV program is about…robot dogs”
Robot dogs at the borders: a chorus of criticism
If you are expecting parties, jumping or barking, know that something else awaits you. The robot dogs that will be used have a different appearance: according to the bodies concerned they will be "force multipliers", according to the critics yet another invasive horror.
THEAmerican Civil Liberties Union, a nonprofit legal and advocacy organization based in New York City, called on Joe Biden's administration to immediately stop the program.
The ACLU said in a statement that the Department of Homeland Security's plan to deploy robotic guard dogs at the borders is "a disaster for civil liberties." The government must “retire this dangerous idea, and the Biden administration must stop our country's slide into an anti-immigrant hell.”
How robot dogs are made
Gavin Kenneally, chief product officer of Ghost Robotics, a company that makes 45kg (100lb) robot dogs “bred” to fit exactly the type of work needed for “border defense,” says:
It is a robust quadrupedal robot. He traverses all types of natural terrain including sand, rocks and hills, as well as man-made environments such as stairs. In the area along the border there is human trafficking, drug trafficking and other contraband, including firearms or even potentially (they always pop out, ed) mass destruction weapons
Robot dogs are currently being tested for their abilities to complete tasks such as sentry duty and carry payloads over rugged terrain. With its cameras and sensors they can transmit real-time video and other data to the man who operates or monitors them.
The robotic dog tests also include a simulation of day and night watch shifts, with battery life tests as well.
