ICE wants a fleet of robot dogs, and it doesn't want to shop around for the best price.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has posted a notice within the Department of Homeland Security's procurement system laying out plans to buy Boston Dynamics' quadruped robots, commonly known as Spot. The listing pegs the spend at $1 million to $2 million. It also states that ICE does not intend to open the purchase to competitive bidding. Journalist Joseph Cox first reported the plan on Friday.
Sole-source contracts skip the process meant to keep agencies from overpaying or picking a vendor for reasons other than merit. For a robot built to carry cameras and other sensors, doing that without competition raises an obvious question: what does ICE plan to use it for, and why did no other bidder get a shot. The filing doesn't say.
Boston Dynamics has spent years insisting Spot isn't meant to be a surveillance tool for law enforcement; a no-bid contract with an agency that patrols neighborhoods doesn't make that pitch any easier.