For decades, Hollywood, and more recently the streaming services of streaminghave toyed with the idea of a dystopian future world in which fearsome robot dogs are used as a police force to control crime.
(Be sure to read: They reject the use of ‘robot dogs’ on the Mexican border)
The most recent example is metal headan episode of the popular series BlackMirror (Netflix) that aired at the end of 2017 and in which mechanical dogs, which had been developed to protect the population, end up turning against them.
The worrying thing is that, for some time now, that idea, or at least part of it, went from being an imaginary to becoming a reality.
The week of February 14 to 18, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS for its acronym in English) announced that “very soon” it could deploy several of these robotic quadrupeds to guard the border with Mexico.
DHS and its science and technology department He has been working with Ghost Robotics for two years, the company that created the police robot prototypeso that its development has all the capabilities that can be applied in that type of terrain.
And although the DHS has not given a timetable for when the robot dogs could officially begin patrolling the border, what it did say is that the first tests were successful and that “very soon” they will be part of the US arsenal in this part of the country.
“The southwestern border of the country may be an inhospitable place for men and animals, but it is a critical area for our national security. That’s why a machine can excel in those conditions,” said Brenda Long, the director of Science and Technology at DHS.
And according to Brett Becker, of the Border Patrol, the support of these mechanical dogs could be ideal in a very particular area where drug trafficking, human trafficking, contraband and even, potentially, weapons of mass destruction converge.
more than dogs DHS has begun to refer to these machines as Automated Surveillance Ground Vehicles (AGSV for its acronym in English).
In this case, the model or AGSV developed by Ghost Robotics is called Vision 60 and is approximately 76 centimeters tall, weighs 32 kilos and can travel about 20 kilometers or three hours before requiring a new battery charge.
This model also has the option of being one hundred percent autonomous or remotely controlled from a computer. Each is estimated to cost around $150,000. It is worth clarifying that Vision 60 does not bite. In fact, he doesn’t even have a head.
However, it can be equipped with a series of instruments and qualities that make it very useful for the objective. Among them, video cameras that operate day and night as well as heat sensors to detect people or animals.
They are also submersible, which allows them to traverse rivers and withstand extreme temperatures ranging from minus 40 degrees Celsius to 55 degreescommon climates in this desert area and that make human patrolling difficult.
But perhaps its greatest attraction is that unlike other types of automated vehicles that use wheels – these are already used – mechanical dogs are trained to operate on any type of terrain.
From mountainous areas, to urban spaces. Even to penetrate houses or buildings and even go up and down stairs. Also, the prototype can be equipped with firearms.
There are several prototypes of these robot dogs, some of them have weapons.
The DHS, at the moment, indicates that its model will not be equipped with lethal force, but recognizes that it is something that could be incorporated in the future. Despite this clarification, the announcement caused great controversy.
(Be sure to read: They reject the use of ‘robot dogs’ on the Mexican border)
In Tijuana, on the border with Mexico, activists gathered the week of the announcement to protest the deployment of these machines that, in their opinion, will be used against immigrants.
In particular, they believe that this new way of policing the border not only dehumanizes migrants but also increases the dangers those who are exposed in their attempt to reach the United States.
“Imagine what will happen if they become activated in this way, where they can harm or even kill a migrant who wants to cross into the United States,” says José María García Lara, director of the Alianza Migrante Tijuana.
In Washington, several legislators, including Alexandra Ocasio Cortez, expressed their discomfort at the use of funds to militarize the border when there are more pressing needs in the country.
What is a guided missile? A robot, and they’ve been with us for decades. The difference is that now we have put legs on them.
But Jari Parikh, the owner of Ghost Robotics, defends his product, even for those purposes. “Robot dogs are nothing more than terrestrial drones. And today, all kinds of automated vehicles like tanks, airplanes and wheeled robots are being equipped with weapon systems,” says Parikh.
The businessman also adds that the idea that his invention is a kind of sentinel that works with artificial intelligence is “ridiculous”. Well, as in the case of aerial drones, the use of weapons is subject to a flesh and blood person who is the one who finally makes the decision to press the trigger.
Parkih, in fact, believes that the future of his robot is not military but rather business where it will be used instead of guards or inspectors to monitor nuclear plants, airports, mines and all kinds of factories.
Right now, he says, “the hurdle is simply financial” because not everyone can afford to pay $150,000 for a unit. “The day we manage to cut its production cost in half or less, it will be everywhere.”
Note, yes, that it is a growing business -they already have 25 clients- in which they are not even pioneers, since Boston Dynamics, another company, already has several models running in different parts of the world.
But things are not so simple. On two other occasions, citizens, at least that of the United States, have shouted to the sky for the use of this type of robotic device for police functions.
In 2021, the NYPD had to file a first mechanic purchased from Boston Dynamics after the strong protests that were unleashed by its use in two cases of violence in the Bronx and in Manhattan where the robot was deployed to monitor the situation.
The same repudiation caused in Hawaii, when one of these robots was used to take the temperature and other possible symptoms of covid-19 among homeless people.
And now voices are growing that ask the Joe Biden administration not to walk down this same path when it comes to controlling migrants.
Still, what’s clear from this entire frontier episode with DHS “mechanical dogs” is that what was once a science-fiction subject now exists. How routine will that reality be? That is what remains to be seen.
Mexico intercepts more than 5,000 migrants in the last week
They come from 23 nations of the world, the majority from Central and South America, followed by countries such as Nepal, China, Senegal, Russia, India, Romania, Switzerland and Gambia, among others.
Mexican authorities intercepted 5,020 irregular migrants in the last week, according to the National Migration Institute (INM).
Among the captured migrants there are 793 minors, although the INM did not specify how many of them were traveling unaccompanied. The institute, which depends on the Ministry of the Interior (Segob), justified the detention of the migrants with the argument that they were “foreigners who transited through the national territory in an irregular condition of stay.”
The arrests, which the INM calls “rescue”, are a reflection of the record migratory flow that the region is experiencing towards the United States, whose Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office detected more than 1.7 million undocumented immigrants on the border with Mexico in fiscal year 2021, which ended in September.
Mexico deported more than 114,000 foreigners in 2021, according to data from the Migration Policy Unit of the country’s Ministry of the Interior. Besides, the The Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar) received a record 131,448 refugee applications in 2021. Of these petitioners, more than 51,000 are Haitians.
“The INM endorses its commitment to maintain a safe, orderly and regular migration, with full respect for the rights of those who are in the context of mobility through national territory, the agency asserted.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from EFE
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