DALLAS POLICE'S KILLER ROBOT
Police rigged a bomb-disposal robot to kill an armed suspect in the fatal shootings of five officers in Dallas on Friday
Unprecedented tactic
This is the first time in history US police have used a robot in a show of lethal force, security experts and law enforcement officials said
But police have been using such robots for decades to dispose of suspected bombs and in hostage standoffs and fires
Militaries across the world rely on robots to disable IEDs, and the US military has sent remotely piloted drones - airborne robots - since 2009 in counterterror attacks
How they work
Robots working for police departments range in size from as small as a dog bone to as large as a truck
Some are little more than a mechanical arm mounted onto a vehicle and equipped with a video camera. Others are versatile enough to climb stairs and navigate tight spots
Experts speculate police in Dallas used a wheeled, remote-controlled robot with a manipulator arm and equipped it with a low-powered explosive that would only disable what’s closest to it
Friend or foe?
Dallas Police chief David Brown said the robot was used because other options would have exposed officers to great danger US drones have reportedly killed hundreds of civilians by accident, and activists say their use has let leaders be insulated from damaging consequences of lethal decisions As for the use of ground robots in civilian life, the Dallas strategy has rekindled concerns about the militarisation of local law enforcement And any technology can be quickly appropriated by the other side. An expert said the Islamic State had already started using drones for both surveillance and for explosive delivery