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UPDATE: ICE says it bought four robot dogs for $1.3 million in part for cross-border tunnel operations. It also says the robots will help tactical teams, listen for movement inside buildings, and look on top of closets and bunk beds.

projectsaltbox.comICE buys $1.3 million in robot dogs from Connecticut companyThe agency bought the robots without seeking competing bids, and chose a version built to detect chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazards.

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It must have been so much fun to work for this robotics company until its products started to shoot their neighbors. If anybody could just have seen that coming ... 🤔

I'm not sure how the robot dogs would look on top of closets and bunk beds. Maybe they can climb a ladder up to a bunk bed, but unless they have telescoping legs, there's no ladder to climb in a closet.

It is odd that they seem so uninterested in competition and the other things that are supposed to make capitalism work. Obviously don't see themselves as socialists .. .

As contract nerds, this is wild. ICE posted a market research notice on Aug. 28, and two companies responded. ICE ruled out one offering a standard Boston Dynamics Spot, never opened the order to bidding, and gave RADeCO a sole-source award on Sept. 25.

ICE says only RADeCO could supply its robot dogs. But the arm, camera and radios on ICE's list match what Boston Dynamics sells in its own public safety kit. RADeCO's one unique product, its detection software, is listed as optional.

Never did I imagine I would google “how to defend yourself against a robot dog,” but that’s apparently where we are.