波士顿动力的四足机器人 Spot（起价约 10 万美元，部分配置达 25 万美元）在上市五年后已被北美 超过 60 支 炸弹小组与 SWAT 队列装；全球运行量约 2,000 台。美国国土安全机构 ICE 亦斥资 约 7.8 万美元 购入类似机型。2025 年防务科技融资激增至 280 亿美元以上，同比增长约 200%，推动半军事化装备在民用执法中的快速扩散。警队采用 Spot 的案例包括：佛州绑架案接触侦查、麻州中学化学事故评估、以及挟持枪击事件中的逼近与包夹。Spot 拥有约 90 分钟 续航，较多款无人机 20–30 分钟 的飞行时间显著延长。
高成本与部署复杂性成为首批批评点，但更重要的伦理风险来自执法军事化与自治系统常态化。纽约警方曾在 2021 年因公众反弹暂停使用 Spot，理由包括预算压力与监控担忧，随后又购入两台。EFF 指出，机器人犬的“拟人化命名”有助于将执法科技包装得更易接受，削弱公众警觉；且当前缺乏州级或联邦层面的明确规范。法律学者警告，若缺乏事前界定的使用场景，机器人部署将进一步“去人性化”警务，并侵蚀社区信任。
尽管如此，在高风险情境（爆炸物、化学品、武装对峙）中，专家普遍承认机器人可降低人员伤亡；其室内移动性强于大多数无人机，且可执行预编程自主任务。法律与技术界的共识倾向为：机器人应限用于事先书面允许的特定情境，保持透明披露与民主监督，以避免滑向机械化执法常态。
Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots, priced from about $100,000 (with some deployments costing ~$250,000), have entered mainstream policing five years after launch, with more than 60 US and Canadian bomb squads and SWAT teams now operating the device and roughly 2,000 units deployed worldwide. US ICE recently purchased a similar system for ~$78,000. Defense-tech investment has surged to over $28 billion in 2025, up 200% year over year, accelerating the civilian adoption of quasi-military robotics. Spot has been used in a Florida kidnapping case, a Massachusetts chemical incident, and a knife-point hostage shooting. Its ~90-minute battery life far exceeds the 20–30 minutes typical for drones.
Critics highlight not only high costs but also the ethical consequences of normalizing militarized, semi-autonomous systems in civilian policing. NYPD paused Spot’s use in 2021 amid public backlash over surveillance and spending, later reinstating and buying two units. The EFF warns that the “robot dog” framing softens public resistance and that no robust state or federal standards govern deployment. Legal scholars argue that growing reliance on robots risks further “dehumanizing” police and weakening community trust.
Still, experts acknowledge robots’ value in high-risk scenarios—explosives, hazardous materials, armed stand-offs—where they reduce officer exposure. Spot’s mobility outperforms most drones indoors and it can execute pre-planned autonomous missions. The emerging consensus: robotics should be restricted to narrowly defined, pre-authorized situations with full transparency and democratic oversight, ensuring safety benefits without drifting toward routinized robotic policing.