Military Dogs Wearing Remote-Controlled Cameras Are the Future of Espionage

There are already more than 2,500 dogs in the armed forces sniffing out roadside bombs, finding drugs, and just generally acting like a troop’s best friend. But a new wearable camera unit will give them a new duty as front-line scouts.

Global military company Cobham Tactical Communications and Surveillance has announced a newly upgraded canine digital video link called Cerberus. Mounted to a dog’s back with a hinge-up, high-def camera, the unit’s microphones and infrared tech will allow ‘cyberdogs’ to perform reconnaissance. All video recorded by the dog will be beamed directly to a control room. A handler will be able to operate the system from as much as 1,600 feet away.

Beyond just military application, Cobham Tactical has said the hardware would be a useful resource for U.S. police departments. In fact, local law enforcement might get the most use out of this tech considering in recent years several police departments, like the NYPD, have cut the budget for human officers while the ranks of K9 units have grown.

The product follows the Canine Collar Camera (below) which the company boasts “is a complete canine(K9) video transmission system including a low light camera, IR illumination, microphone, Speaker, NLOS Transmission, and battery in one robust self-contained housing that hangs from the dogs collar.”

Cats, meanwhile, remain a presence in the retail sector, managing pest control duties in convenience stores in the city and rural gas stations for decades now.