Robot security guards are getting a four-legged, battery-powered assist. As AI data centers spread across sprawling, 24/7 campuses, operators are starting to deploy “robot dogs” from companies like Boston Dynamics and Ghost Robotics to roam fence lines, scan equipment, and spot problems before they knock servers offline, reports Business Outsider. Boston Dynamics says interest in its Spot robot from data centers has surged over the past year, with customers using the $175,000 to $300,000 machines for more than just security: They also map venues, keep tabs on construction, and look for heat anomalies, leaks, or odd noises inside facilities.
The company says buyers typically recoup costs in about 18 months, not counting the value of the data collected. Ghost Robotics’ Vision 60, starting at around $165,000, is being used at a handful of centers mainly for perimeter patrols, with the economic pitch framed against the roughly $150,000 annual cost of a human guard. Both firms stress that the bots supplement, but don’t replace, people—humans still sit in control rooms watching live video feeds—as they try to tap into what one executive calls a “large market” of thousands of existing and planned US data centers. (Check out what happened when a Wired writer purchased his very own “peeing robot attack dog” off of Temu.)