Spot the Robot Dog Helps Police Ahead of Boston’s Fourth of July Celebration

Boston Dynamics’s robotic dog Spot is helping out the Massachusetts State Police at pre-celebration prep for this year’s July Fourth fireworks on the Boston Esplanade.

The quadruped bot is also joined by another robotic dog, Roscoe, as the two work with the state police’s bomb squad. They were seen in use at the Charles River Esplanade during safety preparations on Friday. 

The dogs will be used to monitor and identify potentially hazardous items such as bombs, and provide live video footage of suspicious situations and activity. The bots were designed for inspection purposes in a multitude of terrains, capable of climbing stairs, bending down and climbing back up if they fall. 

This year is the first July Fourth celebration since the pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to be in attendance. As a result, safety precautions are tight and the state police have issued a statement banning weapons, alcohol, backpacks and privately owned drones.