For evidence that America’s surveillance dystopia is totally out of control, you need look no further than Florida, where automated policing is getting more inventive by the day. The latest insult to our collective sense of personal privacy? A self-driving cop car that can reportedly launch drones.
In a press release published earlier this month, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s office announced the launch of a new pilot program involving something cops are calling the PUG. That’s short for the “Police Unmanned Ground vehicle,” which is also described as a “Patrol Partner” for local cops.
The PUG will be an autonomous vehicle that comes equipped with a bevy of new surveillance technologies. The press release notes that the vehicle will leverage “AI-driven analytics, real-time crime data, and a suite of sensors including 360-degree cameras, thermal imaging, license plate recognition, and drone launch capabilities.” Its autonomous capabilities are supplied by a firm called Perrone Robotics, according to the press release.
What will the PUG do? Not much—for now. Indeed, the vehicle may be more of a PR stunt (at least initially) than a functional police tool. The press release says that the car will operate out of the police department’s Community Affairs Bureau (essentially its public outreach wing) and “appear at public events,” where the local sheriff will “gather feedback from residents before the vehicle is considered for broader patrol use.”
The PUG pilot program was developed in partnership with Policing Lab, a non-profit that says its mission is to “empower police departments through expert technical assistance, hands-on training, and advanced technology.”
“This program offers law enforcement officers a smart high-tech partner in the field,” said Marjolijn Bruggeling, Executive Director of Policing Lab, in a press release. “The PUG increases situational awareness, automates repetitive tasks, and frees deputies to focus on the complex and human side of policing. It’s a practical step toward safer, more efficient public safety.”
Gizmodo reached out to the Miami Police Department for more information.
There are myriad examples of how policing technology continues to evolve in ways that are deeply invasive to the casual American (the growth of the license plate reader industry is just one example). At the same time, police departments have been able to offload a lot of their policing duties onto private systems, which passively surveil the population and then turn the data over to the cops when they ask for it (Amazon Ring, for instance). It’s only a matter of time before that robot dog is walking down your street with an AI-powered gun turret on its back.
