The Sanremo Festival requires great organization for the city every year. Street closures, installations around the Ariston — and also various security measures. But this year, a Sanremo i Carabinieri they can also count on a technological ally: the Lightning robot dog.
Saetta, the Carabinieri robot dog at the Sanremo Festival
This is the first example of this high-tech dog breed purchased by the Italian bomb squad, a model developed by Boston Dynamics — Spot, who recently even learned to speak. Saetta’s objective is to guarantee safety during the event, especially considering the accident of a false bomb alarm at Villa Nobel on the night of February 6th.
Lightning, in fact, is a robot remotely controlled (up to 150 meters) which can lift weights, to move possible devices without putting the lives of the bomb squad at risk. The hope is that he doesn’t work for the entire Festival — but the Carabinieri have decided to take him to Sanremo, just in case.
Source: Carabinieri
Just over one meter and seventy centimeters long, weighing just over thirty kilos, this technological dog can jump up to 30 cm high and run at around 6 km/h. The Carabinieri, in addition to replacing the Boston Dynamics yellow with a livery that recalls the distinctive colors of the force, have equipped the robot dog with a mechanical arm. In this way it can recover objects, such as any explosive devices, in total safety. The arm lifts up to 14 kilos.
The fact of having brought him to Sanremo could make one think more of an operation marketing than to effective use – Saetta can thus enjoy the red carpet of the event. But the recent false bomb threat suggests that it is better to have it operational, especially during an event that attracts many people.
The hope is that Saetta will not be needed. If not for an appearance on stage with Amadeus: Who knows how much the arrival of a robot dog at Fantasanremo is worth?
