Robot Dogs

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is reportedly considering the use of “robot dogs” as surveillance multipliers along the nation’s southern border. The Quadrupedal Unmanned Ground Vehicles (Q-UGVs) would be used to patrol for criminal behavior, human trafficking, and smuggling of drugs or other contraband in areas that are inaccessible or inhospitable to humans.

Known as Vision 60®, the ground drone adapts to a broad range of unfamiliar urban and natural environments. It can walk, run, crawl and climb, and eventually will also be able to swim. Even if it slips and falls, it will get back up on its own. The robots can operate fully autonomously or be controlled remotely while sending live video to a central command center.

Vision 60 currently has a maximum runtime of three hours and can cover a distance of nearly eight miles (12.6 kilometers) at a top speed of more than six miles per hour (3 meters per second).