The NYPD is shelling out nearly $400,000 for a remote controlled Wall-E look-alike robot that can roll into danger — so cops don’t have to.
The PackBot 525 — built by Brooklyn-based defense company FLIR — will be deployed by the department’s Emergency Service Unit, The Post has learned.
“This one has a crazy mechanical arm,” a police source said. “They can pick up weapons. Let’s say a suspect is barricaded with a knife. You communicate through the robot.
“It can open a door and pick up the knife or a gun.”
The city is shelling out about $390,000 for the super high-tech helper, which cops will control remotely.
The robot will be ESU’s first response in bomb threat situations, letting police move and inspect suspicious packages from a safe distance, the source said. While it can’t actually use a weapon, in a barricade it can clear rooms, relay video and audio and “protects the officers,” the source added.
The bot is equipped with HD cameras, improved lighting, a laser range finder and can lift up to 44 pounds, according to the manufacturer.
It can be used for bomb disposal, surveillance, scouting and detecting or handling hazardous materials and radiation, and stows neatly in a vehicle — even fitting in a standard-sized car’s trunk, the company’s website claims.
“The new robot will allow our ESU officers to gain better command and control at the scene of an incident,” an NYPD spokesperson said. “The robot can be used to navigate obstructions in a room and scan for persons in need of help.”
The NYPD has been steadily adding mechanical muscle to its ranks over the last few years.
In 2023, it brought back DigiDog — a 70-pound robotic canine that can be sent into dangerous situations — after shelving an earlier version that critics called dystopian.
The PackBot is “almost like DigiDog but a little more advanced,” the NYPD source said, and better suited for handling hostage situations.
“ESU really wants this,” the source added.
The department piloted a 400-pound Autonomous Security Robot in Times Square that same year, but scrapped it after just four months — in part because it needed a cop chaperone and couldn’t climb stairs.
And in 2024, it bought 14 “throw bots” that can be tossed into active scenes to beam back live video and audio.
FLIR, an acronym for Forward-Looking Infrared, specializes in thermal imaging cameras and sensors and became part of California-based defense and electronics giant Teledyne Technologies in 2021.
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