Crime & Safety
NYC Robot Dog Hunted For Survivors In Fidi Garage Collapse
A robotic Dalmatian bounded into the collapsed building to look for injured people, the FDNY said.
NEW YORK CITY — Among first responders who bounded toward the fatal parking garage collapse Tuesday was an FDNY robot dog, officials said.
Spot the robot Dalmatian was sent in after structural concerns forced smoke eaters to flee the collapsed garage on Ann Street, according to the FDNY.
“Thank God we had the robotic dog," said Mayor Eric Adams. "This is ideally what we talk about not sending a human being inside."
Find out what's happening in New York Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
FDNY members continue operations at the scene of the collapse of a parking garage on 57 Ann St. Because of danger of further collapse FDNY robot dog was deployed to assist in search and rescue. pic.twitter.com/UI8jnjUxsE
— FDNY (@FDNY) April 18, 2023
FDNY video shows Spot gearing up to go in and another video shared by @DaDaRocks shows it climbing a slab of concrete and falling on its side.
"That didn't work out for the dog so well," someone says behind the camera.
Find out what's happening in New York Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
This is not Digidog's first foray into New York City.
The $75,000 Boston Dynamics robotic police dog was readopted earlier this month after a brief, controversial stint on the police force in 2021.
“Digidog is out of the pound,” the mayor said at the time.
Five garage workers were injured in the massive collapse that saw parked cars crushed by buckling concrete.
Said Pace University student Liam Gaeta, “It felt like an earthquake."
Matt Troutman, Megan VerHelst and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
