Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida has begun using robotic dogs to patrol parts of the base that don’t typically demand a human presence, according to a base news release.
“These robot dogs will be used as a force multiplier for enhanced situational awareness by patrolling areas that aren’t desirable for human beings and vehicles.” Maj. Jordan Criss, 325th Security Forces Squadron commander at the base, said in the release.
Tyndall also posted a video of the robotic rovers on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS).
The “dogs” superficially resemble commercially-available devices built by Boston Dynamics that went on sale earlier this year. However, the Florida base’s robots were developed by Philadelphia-based technology company Ghost Robotics. Prototypes were tested at Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base in September and proved capable in support and reconnaissance roles, Sputnik reported at the time.
The four-legged computerized canines are semi-autonomous and carry cameras to track activities in front of them and inform people at base security headquarters about what’s going on. They are not intended to replace working dogs used by soldiers, but there have been rumors the Pentagon is experimenting with robotic dogs of war as well.
“We will be able to drive them via a virtual-reality headset within our Base Defense Operations Center,” Criss explained. “We will be able to see exactly what the robot dog is detecting through its mobile camera and sensor platform if desired, we will also be able to issue verbal commands to a person or people through a radio attached to the dogs.”
