Debate Over Police Use of Robotic Dogs in Law Enforcement.

If you're homeless and looking for temporary shelter in Hawaii's capital, expect a visit from a robotic police dog that scans your eye to make sure you don't have a fever. That's one way US public safety agencies are using Spot, the best-known of a new commercial category of robots that trot around with animal-like agility. Honolulu police department spent about $150,000 in federal pandemic relief money to buy the machine from robotics firm Boston Dynamics for use at a government-run tent city near the airport. Some people are concerned that homeless people are being targeted and the technology will persist after the pandemic. Acting Lt. Joseph O'Neal of the Honolulu Police Department's community outreach unit defended the robot's use in a media demonstration this spring.