Space Force Station Gets Robotic Guard Dog As Robots Become Normalized In Everyday Life

The Cape Cod Space Force Station announced the introduction of a robotic guard dog on Monday. Technically known as an “unmanned ground vehicle,” the robot dog has a number of sensors that allow it to keep an eye on its surroundings.

The robot dogs are made by Asylon Robotics through a partnership with Boston Dynamics, the company that’s always releasing new videos of its Atlas robot doing incredible stunts. And while the Space Force’s robot dog can’t do backflips and won’t carry a weapon, it’s still very clearly another step into the future of our increasingly robot-filled society.

Boston Dynamics started letting private businesses lease out its four-legged robots, nicknamed Spot, in 2019. And while Boston Dynamics has repeatedly promised in the past that its robots wouldn’t be used for military applications, the dogs have already been used by police departments like the NYPD.

It’s unclear what kind of agreement Asylon has with Boston Dynamics that allows use of its robot technology, but it’s far from a secret that the two companies are working together. Asylon has an entire section of its website dedicated to the use of robots and drones for military purposes. I reached out to Asylon Robotics but didn’t immediately get a response. I’ll update this post if I hear back.

The Space Force released a number of photos and a video of its new robot guard dog on Monday through DVIDS, the U.S. Department of Defense media distribution channel. In the video, viewers can see the robot dog being taken for a walk along a dirt path, with a controller helping direct its movements.

The robot is semi-autonomous, which means that it can go out on patrol on its own and even attempt to avoid obstacles, finding the best way around various objects, but has limited functionality when it’s not being controlled by a human.

The Cape Cod Space Force Station, which is home to the 6th Space Warning Squadron and was known as an Air Force Station until it was renamed in 2021, has been outfitted with a charging station where the robot dog can get power.

“The squadron will benefit in being provided assets, in the form of the robotic security dog and charging station, to maintain high tempo perimeter security operations for deterrence and real time intelligence,” the Space Force said in a statement published to DVIDS.

Robot technology has become increasingly sophisticated in recent years, thanks in large part to public-private partnerships between the U.S. military and robotics companies. As recently as 2015, many robots had a difficult time doing basic human tasks like operating a power drill, something I saw firsthand when I attended the DARPA Robotics Challenge that year.

But today, robots have become so agile and mundane that the U.S. military can introduce one as part of its security rotation and it’s barely thought of as unusual.

Nobody knows how far robotics will come in the next eight years, but it will all be due to literally decades of research being funded largely by the U.S. military. Let’s just hope they keep the ones that eat humans on the drawing board.