House GOP discusses use of robot dogs to patrol US borders

The USA Division of Homeland Safety precipitated a stir last February when it revealed that it was exploring deploying robotic canine on the U.S./Mexico border.

“The southern border might be an inhospitable place for man and beast, and that’s precisely why a machine might excel there,” the DHS’s Brenda Lengthy mentioned on the time. “This [Science and Technology Directorate]-led initiative focuses on Automated Floor Surveillance Autos, or what we name ‘AGSVs.’ Primarily, the AGSV program is all about…robotic canine.”

The story raised the ire of a number of Democratic politicians, together with New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who tweeted, “It’s shameful how each events struggle tooth + nail to defend their capacity to pump limitless public cash into militarization. From tanks in police depts to deprave army contracts, funding this violence is bipartisan + non-controversial, but healthcare + housing isn’t. It’s BS.”

Final week, the topic — and the robotics agency behind it — have been as soon as once more high of thoughts on Capitol Hill. A Home GOP Cybersecurity, Info Know-how and Authorities Innovation listening to titled “Using Cutting-Edge Technologies to Keep America Safe” gathered collectively representatives from plenty of defense-related expertise companies. The record included Ryan Rawding of biometric verification agency Pangiam, Wahid Nawabi of drone protection agency AeroVironment, Benjamin Boudreaux from the RAND Company and Gavin Kenneally, the CEO of Ghost, whose robotic canine have been featured within the trials.

Ghost demoed its Imaginative and prescient 60 robotic for the panel throughout Kenneally’s presentation. “Appears like my highschool algebra instructor,” one member of the committee inexplicably quipped. One other added, “like an Avengers film proper now.” Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene known as the demo, “actually unimaginable, completely intriguing.”

Missouri Congressman Eric Burlison famous, “a number of home Democrat members reportedly wrote to the US Customs and Border Safety final 12 months expressing considerations about that robotic canine might pose a deadly risk to migrants and Individuals. How authentic is that concern?”

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 22: Gavin Kenneally, Chief Government Officer at Ghost Robotics speaks as Imaginative and prescient 60 UGV walks in throughout a Home listening to on the US Capitol on June 22, 2023 in Washington, DC. The Home Committee on Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Info Know-how, and Authorities Innovation met to debate using expertise on the US Border, airports and army bases. (Photograph by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Photographs)

The chief responded, “The use case for the robots on the border is to gather knowledge. You may both search for unlawful drug trafficking by including sensors to detect for that, or you’ll be able to add infrared or thermal cameras, which allow you to decide up human or different animals’ thermal signatures. The robotic is known as a detection system, which can then truly be used to avoid wasting lives. There’s a whole bunch of deaths yearly from drowning or getting caught making an attempt to cross the border.”

In October 2021, the Philly-based startup made nationwide headlines when photos emerged of one among its robots sporting a remote-controlled sniper rifle designed by an organization known as SWORD. On the time, then-CEO Jiren Parikh instructed TechCrunch the system was a “strolling tripod” in reference to the corporate’s obvious hands-off strategy to payload — weaponized or in any other case.

The topic of weaponization briefly got here up through the listening to.

“[A]s the world progresses into phases that may very well be going to extra wars — particularly given the Ukraine and Russian struggle that’s occurring proper now — I’d wish to ask every of you the way we are able to ensure that we forestall any varieties of applied sciences or robotics like this to ever be used as weapons towards individuals,” Greene mentioned. “And I feel that’s extraordinarily necessary. Once more, it’s not weaponizing expertise we need to see occur ever, and I want to see nations all over the world make agreements to this, particularly with rising unimaginable innovations. We don’t need to see them became one thing that may kill individuals.”

The Georgia congresswoman didn’t ask the query immediately, nonetheless, as a substitute pivoting to 1 about stopping cybersecurity assaults.

Picture Credit: Ghost Robotics

“The robotic, the way in which we’ve constructed it, it’s successfully a server on legs, so we’re ready to make use of commonplace greatest practices to lock down the robotic as a lot as attainable, utilizing firewalls,” answered Kenneally. “Due to the delicate nature of our clients, the entire knowledge that the robotic collects is saved regionally.”

New York Congressman Nick Langworthy, in the meantime, requested whether or not the robotic may very well be deployed on the U.S./Canadian border.

“Sure, completely,” Kenneally responded. “We even have constructed these robots very purposefully to go in environments which are unimaginable harsh and laborious for people to traverse. We’re capable of function the robotic all the way down to -40 Celsius or -40 Fahrenheit. It’s additionally sealed, so it may possibly work in every kind of various climate situations.”