[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-ice-skips-competitive-bidding-to-buy-robot-dogs":10,"sections":35},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":30,"feedback":34,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":34,"total_tokens":34},5965,"ice-skips-competitive-bidding-to-buy-robot-dogs","ICE Skips Competitive Bidding to Buy Robot Dogs","ICE plans to spend up to $2 million on Boston Dynamics robot dogs without opening the purchase to competitive bidding, according to a DHS procurement filing.","ICE wants a fleet of robot dogs, and it doesn't want to shop around for the best price.\n\nImmigration 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.\n\nSole-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.\n\nBoston 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.","[\"ice\",\"boston-dynamics\",\"robotics\",\"procurement\"]","2026-09-01T16:38:35.000Z","2026-09-01T17:54:47.693Z","2026-09-01T17:54:59.599Z","published",null,[],"policy",[26,27,28,29],"ice","boston-dynamics","robotics","procurement",[31],{"name":32,"url":33},"The Next Web","https:\u002F\u002Fthenextweb.com\u002Fnews\u002Fice-boston-dynamics-spot-robots-procurement",0,{"sections":36},[37,42,47,51,56,61,66,71,76,81,86,91,96,101],{"name":38,"slug":39,"count":40,"latest_published_at":41},"AI","ai",3360,"2026-09-01T20:00:00.000Z",{"name":43,"slug":44,"count":45,"latest_published_at":46},"Security","security",517,"2026-09-01T21:20:00.000Z",{"name":48,"slug":24,"count":49,"latest_published_at":50},"Policy",260,"2026-09-01T18:19:26.000Z",{"name":52,"slug":53,"count":54,"latest_published_at":55},"Deals","deals",179,"2026-06-29T20:02:07.000Z",{"name":57,"slug":58,"count":59,"latest_published_at":60},"Hardware","hardware",151,"2026-09-01T14:42:22.000Z",{"name":62,"slug":63,"count":64,"latest_published_at":65},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",95,"2026-08-18T16:05:00.000Z",{"name":67,"slug":68,"count":69,"latest_published_at":70},"Science","science",91,"2026-08-20T10:01:48.000Z",{"name":72,"slug":73,"count":74,"latest_published_at":75},"Software","software",73,"2026-08-18T07:51:50.000Z",{"name":77,"slug":78,"count":79,"latest_published_at":80},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",69,"2026-08-18T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":82,"slug":83,"count":84,"latest_published_at":85},"Startups","startups",52,"2026-08-25T18:55:12.000Z",{"name":87,"slug":88,"count":89,"latest_published_at":90},"Gaming","gaming",41,"2026-07-09T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":92,"slug":93,"count":94,"latest_published_at":95},"General","general",34,"2026-09-01T13:28:43.000Z",{"name":97,"slug":98,"count":99,"latest_published_at":100},"Reviews","reviews",20,"2026-06-24T12:00:01.000Z",{"name":102,"slug":103,"count":104,"latest_published_at":105},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]