What We Know About Boston Dynamics' Robot Dog Sale to ICE

More than 300 Boston Dynamics employees signed an internal petition opposing the company's robot dogs being sold to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but executives are proceeding with the deal, according to Ars Technica.

What did ICE actually buy, and from whom?

The Department of Homeland Security awarded a $1.3 million contract on September 25 to Radeco, a Connecticut company, Ars Technica reported. Radeco's contract covers four Boston Dynamics Spot robots modified into a platform Radeco markets as Cerberus. Boston Dynamics itself is not the contracting party; Radeco is the intermediary buying and upgrading the underlying Spot hardware.

What is the Cerberus robot built to do?

According to the ICE contract as described by Ars Technica, Cerberus is designed to detect radiation, toxic gas leaks, and explosive threats in urban environments or disaster zones. An oxygen sensor checks whether air is breathable in confined spaces such as tunnels. The robot carries a camera with 30-times zoom, 360-degree cameras, and infrared thermal imaging, and can take an optional robotic arm that opens doors and manipulates objects. The contract describes the robot as capable of running autonomous missions with minimal human intervention. DHS justified the purchase as support for Homeland Security Task Forces work against cross-border tunnel operations and smuggling networks, per the contract language cited by Ars Technica.

How many Boston Dynamics employees objected, and what did they say?

The petition, sent to executives in early September and shared with The Boston Globe and WBUR, carried more than 300 signatures, Ars Technica reported — roughly half of them anonymous. Boston Dynamics employs approximately 1,400 people, meaning the petition reflects roughly one in five workers. "Many of us have gotten messages from friends and family, asking us in disbelief and horror if this news is true, and how we can live with ourselves if it is," the petition read, according to Ars Technica. It added that "the risk for Boston Dynamics is simply too great to continue with this deal."

Did Boston Dynamics agree to stop the sale?

No. Executives told employees they would stand by the arrangement while stating the robots would not be weaponized, Ars Technica reported. The company's position leaves the Radeco-ICE contract intact as of the report's publication.

The numbers

• $1.3 million: value of the DHS contract awarded to Radeco on September 25, per Ars Technica.
• 4: number of modified Spot robots covered by the contract.
• 300+: petition signatures from Boston Dynamics employees, about half anonymous.
• 1,400: approximate total Boston Dynamics workforce, per Ars Technica, making signers roughly 21 percent of staff.
• 30x: zoom capability of the Cerberus camera system.

What to watch

• Whether Boston Dynamics issues a further public statement or policy change following the petition.
• Whether Radeco delivers the four Cerberus units and how ICE deploys them in tunnel or urban operations.
• Whether other robotics-sector employees or unions raise similar objections to law-enforcement contracts.
• Any DHS disclosure on how the robots' autonomous-mission capability is used in the field.