Event
Boston Dynamics employees petition against selling robot dogs to ICE
1 reports · 1 sources
About 300 Boston Dynamics employees signed a petition demanding that executives stop selling robot dogs to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but company management insists on completing the deal and says the robots will not be weaponized. The petition signatories account for about two-tenths of the company's roughly 1,400 employees. The dispute involves a $1.3 million contract awarded on September 25 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to Connecticut-based company Radeco: Radeco will modify four Boston Dynamics Spot robot dogs and supply them to ICE under the product name Cerberus, equipped with oxygen sensors, a 30x zoom camera, a 360-degree camera, infrared thermal imaging and an optional robotic arm, for detecting radiation, toxic gas leaks and explosive threats. The company cited Spot's sales terms, saying the terms prohibit "intentionally using the product to harm or intimidate any person or animal, using it as a weapon, or using it in support of any weapon."
Report timeline
- Over 300 Boston Dynamics employees petition against selling robot dogs to ICE; company insists on honoring the deal
More than 300 Boston Dynamics employees signed a petition demanding that executives stop selling robot dogs to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while company management insists on the deal. On September 25, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded Radeco a $1.3 million contract to supply ICE with 4 modified Spot units named Cerberus, equipped with oxygen sensors, 30x zoom cameras, 360-degree cameras, infrared thermal imaging, and an optional robotic arm, for detecting radiation, toxic gas leaks, and explosive threats.
Ars Technica ·