Woof! All Bark and No Bite (for Now)

This popped up in a recent edition of Wired magazine, featuring the upcoming use of “robot dogs” to enhance security at a major public event.

Robots used for security at major venues are not new. Back in 2018, I met B-3PO (“she” was intentionally designated as a female) at New York’s LaGuardia Airport Terminal B.

As I was entering the terminal, she rolled up to me and stopped. I had a “conversation” with her (and found out later that the robot had a realtime connection to a real NYC police officer (a lady) that could make the conversation seem “real”).

It was an experiment and did not last long, but in 2026, with the price-point of robots decreasing while their capabilities are expanding, I expect to see more of these security deployments going forward.

Robot dogs are not a new configuration. Boston Dynamics’ “Spot” is a good example and ...