Miami Dade police introduce crime-fighting robots (includes video story)

The Miami-Dade Police Department special response team introduced its latest crime-stopping technological equipment Thursday. SPOT is an agile, remote-controlled robot created by a firm called Boston Dynamics that can navigate any area with extreme mobility, giving officers a safe and accurate way to conduct frequent inspections.

With the addition of SPOT, officers are expected to be put in fewer life-threatening situations. They will receive special training on how to control the robotic dog.

FIU Professor Dwayne McDaniel and his research team attended the Associated Builders and Contractors All Hands on Tech conference in Orlando last year. They were awarded two SPOT robots as part of a Department of Defense award of millions of dollars to minority-serving institutions.

Carlos Carrillo is a senior at Florida International University majoring in digital broadcasting. After graduation Carlos hopes to pursue a career in TV and one day become a sports broadcaster or journalist.