Are Robotic Police Dogs Useful Tools or Threatening Machines?
2021-08-05
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1A robotic police dog is being used to look for high body temperatures in homeless people at a temporary shelter in Hawaii's capital, Honolulu.
2The effort is one way public safety agencies are starting to use the commercial robot Spot.
3Spot can move like an animal and can walk over almost anything a person can.
4A small group of police officials are experimenting with the four-legged machines.
5They say they are just another tool to keep emergency responders safe.
6But people concerned about privacy warn that police are quickly buying the robots without safeguards against misuse.
7In Honolulu, the police department spent about $150,000 in federal pandemic aid money to buy their Spot.
8It was purchased from Boston Dynamics for use at a government homeless shelter near the airport.
9Jongwook Kim is the legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii.
10He said, "Because these people are houseless it's considered OK to do that."
11Kim added: "At some point it will come out again for some different use after the pandemic is over."
12Supervisor Joseph O'Neal of the Honolulu Police Department's community outreach division defended the robot's use earlier this year.
13He said it has protected officers, shelter workers, and the homeless.
14The robot can do this by examining body temperatures between mealtimes.
15As a result, the homeless people could get tested for COVID-19 and quarantined if needed.
16The robot is also used to communicate with people who have the virus.
17O'Neal said, "We have not had a single person out there that said, 'That's scary...'" He said they do not test people without a reason.
18Police use of robots is still rare and untested.
19It also has not always gone over well with the public.
20Honolulu officials faced criticism when a local news organization, Honolulu Civil Beat, found that Spot was paid for with federal COVID-19 aid money.
21The New York Police Department started using Spot after painting it blue and renaming it "Digidog."
22However, Spot received attention and criticism that led the police department to return Digidog to its maker.
23Boston Dynamics has said it is learning from the New York event on how to explain to the public what Spot can and cannot do.
24This has become increasingly important as Boston Dynamics becomes part of South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Company.
25In June, Hyundai reached an $880 million deal to take a controlling share in the robotics company.
26Michael Perry is the vice president of Boston Dynamics.
27He said the company's usage guidelines bar the robot's use as a weapon.
28It is also not supposed to be used for anything that would violate privacy or civil rights laws.
29Boston Dynamics depended on military research money for many years.
30But, it wants its robots to seem friendlier to local governments and businesses.
31Another robot manufacturer, Philadelphia-based Ghost Robotics, approves of using its robots as weapons.
32It supplies its dog-like robots to several U.S. military services and their allies.
33"It's just plug and play, anything you want," said Ghost Robotics CEO Jiren Parikh.
34He was critical of Boston Dynamics "selective morality" because of the company's past involvement with the military.
35There are about 500 Spot robots in use.
36Perry said they are used by companies to inspect areas with dangerous levels of electricity.
37Spot is also used in building sites, mines and factories.
38Spot is still mostly controlled by humans.
39All the operators have to do is tell Spot which direction to go in and it can deal with a difficult path, like steps.
40It can also operate on its own, but only if it has memorized a path and there are not any surprises.
41Kim said that there might be some good uses for such machines.
42But opening the door for police robots to work with the public is probably not a good idea.
43He pointed to how Dallas police in 2016 put explosives on a wheeled robot and used it to kill a gunman.
44The incident started an ongoing debate about "killer robots" in policing and in war.
45Kim said there is a possibility that these robots will "...increase the militarization of police departments and use it in ways that are unacceptable."
46He said, "Maybe it's not something we even want to let law enforcement have."
47I'm Gregory Stachel.
1A robotic police dog is being used to look for high body temperatures in homeless people at a temporary shelter in Hawaii's capital, Honolulu. 2The effort is one way public safety agencies are starting to use the commercial robot Spot. Spot can move like an animal and can walk over almost anything a person can. 3A small group of police officials are experimenting with the four-legged machines. They say they are just another tool to keep emergency responders safe. But people concerned about privacy warn that police are quickly buying the robots without safeguards against misuse. 4In Honolulu, the police department spent about $150,000 in federal pandemic aid money to buy their Spot. It was purchased from Boston Dynamics for use at a government homeless shelter near the airport. 5Jongwook Kim is the legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii. He said, "Because these people are houseless it's considered OK to do that." Kim added: "At some point it will come out again for some different use after the pandemic is over." 6Supervisor Joseph O'Neal of the Honolulu Police Department's community outreach division defended the robot's use earlier this year. 7He said it has protected officers, shelter workers, and the homeless. The robot can do this by examining body temperatures between mealtimes. As a result, the homeless people could get tested for COVID-19 and quarantined if needed. The robot is also used to communicate with people who have the virus. 8O'Neal said, "We have not had a single person out there that said, 'That's scary...'" He said they do not test people without a reason. 9Police use of robots is still rare and untested. It also has not always gone over well with the public. Honolulu officials faced criticism when a local news organization, Honolulu Civil Beat, found that Spot was paid for with federal COVID-19 aid money. 10The New York Police Department started using Spot after painting it blue and renaming it "Digidog." However, Spot received attention and criticism that led the police department to return Digidog to its maker. 11Boston Dynamics has said it is learning from the New York event on how to explain to the public what Spot can and cannot do. This has become increasingly important as Boston Dynamics becomes part of South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Company. In June, Hyundai reached an $880 million deal to take a controlling share in the robotics company. 12Michael Perry is the vice president of Boston Dynamics. He said the company's usage guidelines bar the robot's use as a weapon. It is also not supposed to be used for anything that would violate privacy or civil rights laws. 13Boston Dynamics depended on military research money for many years. But, it wants its robots to seem friendlier to local governments and businesses. 14Another robot manufacturer, Philadelphia-based Ghost Robotics, approves of using its robots as weapons. It supplies its dog-like robots to several U.S. military services and their allies. 15"It's just plug and play, anything you want," said Ghost Robotics CEO Jiren Parikh. He was critical of Boston Dynamics "selective morality" because of the company's past involvement with the military. 16There are about 500 Spot robots in use. Perry said they are used by companies to inspect areas with dangerous levels of electricity. Spot is also used in building sites, mines and factories. 17Spot is still mostly controlled by humans. All the operators have to do is tell Spot which direction to go in and it can deal with a difficult path, like steps. It can also operate on its own, but only if it has memorized a path and there are not any surprises. 18Kim said that there might be some good uses for such machines. But opening the door for police robots to work with the public is probably not a good idea. He pointed to how Dallas police in 2016 put explosives on a wheeled robot and used it to kill a gunman. The incident started an ongoing debate about "killer robots" in policing and in war. 19Kim said there is a possibility that these robots will "...increase the militarization of police departments and use it in ways that are unacceptable." He said, "Maybe it's not something we even want to let law enforcement have." 20I'm Gregory Stachel. 21Matt O'Brien and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 22_____________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24commercial -adj. concerned with earning money; related to the buying and selling of goods 25responder - n. a person, such as a police officer, who is among those responsible for going to the scene of an accident or emergency to help 26quarantine -v. to keep a person away from others to prevent the spread of disease 27scary - adj. causing fear 28plug - v. to put (information, such as a word or number) in something 29selective - adj. the chose one thing over the other; careful to choose only the best people or things