This popped up in a recent edition of Wired magazine, featuring the upcoming use of “robot dogs” to enhance security at a major public event.
Robots used for security at major venues are not new. Back in 2018, I met B-3PO (“she” was intentionally designated as a female) at New York’s LaGuardia Airport Terminal B.
As I was entering the terminal, she rolled up to me and stopped. I had a “conversation” with her (and found out later that the robot had a realtime connection to a real NYC police officer (a lady) that could make the conversation seem “real”).
It was an experiment and did not last long, but in 2026, with the price-point of robots decreasing while their capabilities are expanding, I expect to see more of these security deployments going forward.
Robot dogs are not a new configuration. Boston Dynamics’ “Spot” is a good example and it has been around for many years, being first introduced in 2016. That’s a decade ago!
Long before Spot arrived, there was Aibo. I worked for Sony for many years, and I attribute my interest in robotic dogs to Aibo, which was introduced to the world in 1999 as a “pet.” It was quite advanced for the time, having cameras and sensors enabling it to “learn” behaviors over time and respond to voice commands. It made a great Christmas gift for the children, if you could afford it.
It showed that robot dogs could be emotional companions, not just machines. As of 2018, AI (artificial intelligence) and cloud integration were added.
There’s a saying that a dog is a man’s best friend, and I think that we culturally relate to dogs far more deeply than any other animal in general.
As long as non-military robot dogs can’t shoot you, they will make entertaining augmentations to your personal security at public events. Your kids will love it!
About the Author
Tim Lindner develops multimodal technology solutions (voice / augmented reality / RF scanning) that focus on meeting or exceeding logistics and supply chain customers’ productivity improvement objectives. He can be reached at linkedin.com/in/timlindner.