Spot goes to the cop shop

The Western Australia Police Force's latest recruit is a robot.

The Western Australia Police Force's latest recruit is a robot dog.

While this is based on news, there is definitely a bit of opinion in here. Like my views on the robot's promiscuous posture.

The Western Australian Police Force heard news that a robot that crushed a seven-year-old’s finger during the Moscow Chess Open and thought “now is the time to unveil our latest $350,000 investment.”

From Blue Heelers to Black Mirror, Spot the robotic dog is the latest WA Police Force recruit. At 31 kilos, the loping mutt is limber, ballearic, (watch his fluid, erotically-charged cat-cow transition) and ready to sniff out bombs.

The Boston Dynamics robot (yes, the ones that inspired the harrowing 'Metalhead' episode of Black Mirror) has been enlisted as part of WA Police Force’s Tactical Response group, which is responsible for investigating and disarming potential explosives, something that Commissioner of Police Col Blanch admits is, “rare in WA”.

Spot won’t actually diffuse any bombs, but he’ll play a “valuable” role in assessing the danger. I know people that’d take a look at an active bomb and tell you “mate, it’s not looking good” for less.

“The main, most valuable asset the [Tactical Response Group] has when dealing with a bomb, or any explosive device, are the people,” WA minister for police Paul Papalia said. 

“Anything we can do to protect them and get them further away from danger and the explosive device is a good thing.”

The ruthless, heat-seaking killers in Black Mirror's 'Metalhead', significantly less thotty than our Spot.

Historically speaking, law enforcement embracing singularity has not gone down well with the hoi polloi. 

In 2020, the NYPD leased a Boston Dynamics dog of its own and called it Digidog. The robot was only deployed in a few situations, including a home invasion in the Bronx before it was pulled amid widespread backlash. With critics likening the spritely hound to a dystopian surveillance drone. 

Full Lockdown in Shanghai, this is how they broadcast announcements.

Robot Dog + Speakers#Shanghai #COVID #Lockdown pic.twitter.com/5kJdLrnL8p

— Jay in Shanghai 🇨🇳 (@JayinShanghai) March 29, 2022

You can’t blame the public for their reservations. What, with the recently surfaced footage of a robot dog blasting a submachine gun into targets against the snowy, rolling hills of Russia. Or Preserved Egg, the robot dog that barked orders at Shanghai residents during the city's mandatory COVID lockdown. Who could forget the autonomous, jellyfish slaughtering robots of South Korea? 

All the people who laughed off the “worrywarts” years ago for freaking out about the Funny Dancing Robot Dogs (tm) should be forced to watch this video once a day for the remainder of the year. pic.twitter.com/WBIrlGah3w

— Sean Chiplock (@sonicmega) July 20, 2022

Perhaps in the future, when we’re all hiding from a murderous robot army amid the strewn rubble that was once our home, the Western Australia Police Force will think, “that was a significant mismanagement of funds.”