The futuristic four-legged machine, which boasts the size and agility of a 70-pound golden retriever, has been met with both fascination and concern.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has recently acquired a crime-fighting robot dog named “Spot,” sparking concerns among several communities about its effects. Knewz.com has learned that the robot dog is similar to a golden retriever in terms of size and agility and weighs about 70 pounds.

Robot maker Boston Dynamics announced a series of updates to its industrial Spot robot dog, meant to increase its capabilities

Spot can open doors, pick up objects, and drag up to 50 pounds. It’s not actually a dog, it’s a robot that can complement human (and canine) police officers, and this robotic K9 is already tasked with various operations across LA’s crime landscape.

Boston Dynamics has updated the Spot quadruped by adding more autonomy and sensing with its latest software release.

Meet Spot, a robot dog owned by Consumers Energy since 2021. Engineering company Boston Dynamics made the robot and Consumers purchased it for $160,000 to prevent large outages before they happen, said Chris Laird, vice president of electric operations for Consumers Energy.

Boston Dynamics is making the Spot robot dog increasingly fit for industrial tasks. It now supports more sensors and can react better to obstacles.

After four years of collaboration, Leica Geosystems and Boston Dynamics now have software integrations to offer laser scanning workflow for Spot, the mobile robot. Users can now initiate an Autowalk that includes laser scanning in the Spot app and execute it without human intervention.

LAPD's new robot dog Spot raises concerns about privacy, militarization, and impact on vulnerable communities.