Robot dogs beyond inspection: security, stage shows and guiding, with their limits

Outside industrial inspection, robot dogs have so far shown up in public-facing work in three places: security patrols at large events, choreographed stage performances, and character attractions for entertainment venues. A fourth role, guiding blind and low-vision people, is still a research subject. In every documented case a trained team stays in charge, and the robot works in a controlled zone instead of moving freely through a crowd.

This article looks at cases the manufacturers or researchers themselves have published. It covers what each one shows, what it leaves out, and what that means for anyone thinking about a quadruped near the public.

Where robot dogs started: industrial inspection

Most commercial quadrupeds were built for plants, tunnels and construction sites, not foyers. ANYbotics presents ANYmal as an autonomous inspection robot for power and utilities, mining, oil and gas, chemicals and rail. It lists an IP67 rating, a walking speed of 0.75 m/s and about 90 minutes of runtime per charge. ANYbotics does not market ANYmal for events or public-facing work.

Boston Dynamics' own Spot product page also leads with manufacturing, energy, construction, government and research uses. It lists a weight of 33.8 kg, a top speed of 1.6 m/s, an IP54 rating and an average runtime of around 90 minutes. Those numbers matter in a public setting: a robot that weighs about as much as a large dog, can move faster than a walking adult and runs for roughly an hour and a half is not something to send loose into a busy hall.

Unitree's Go2 is the smaller, consumer-oriented end of the market. Unitree lists it at about 15 kg with the battery, a top running speed of about 5 m/s and two to four hours of endurance depending on version. Unitree also says the Go2 is a civilian robot and asks users not to modify it dangerously or use it in a hazardous way.

Security patrols at the FIFA World Cup 2026

The most prominent recent public-facing deployment is security. In a post dated 1 July 2026, Boston Dynamics said Spot was supporting FIFA security at the International Broadcast Center in Dallas and at the NY/NJ stadium during the tournament.

According to Boston Dynamics, the robots run perimeter patrols for asset protection and risk detection. When Spot detects a person, it stops, switches on audio-visual lights, takes panoramic and thermal images and sends an alert, then carries on along its route. FIFA security personnel operate the robots alongside the existing security set-up, and findings go to trained staff for a final decision.

Three details stand out:

• The work is perimeter patrol, on routes away from spectator crowds, not patrolling inside the stands.
• The robot escalates to people. It does not make decisions about the people it detects.
• The post describes two sites in a tournament with 16 host cities, so it is a targeted deployment, not a blanket one.

The post does not report results such as incidents detected or hours patrolled, and it says nothing about how image data is handled. Any organiser considering camera-equipped robots in Europe should read our guide on cameras, microphones and visitor privacy before going further.

On stage: Spot on America's Got Talent

Entertainment is the second documented role, and the best-known example shows how fragile a live show can be. In a post published on 26 August 2025, Boston Dynamics described Spot's appearance on America's Got Talent. Five Spot robots performed a routine to Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now".

One robot had a hardware failure partway through, and four finished the routine. Boston Dynamics said the team had rehearsed the routine more than 100 times beforehand and called the fault rare. The judges still put the act through to the next round.

For event planners, the useful lesson is not that the act went through. It is that a manufacturer with its own engineering team on site still lost a robot during a closely rehearsed performance. A stage show is also the most controlled public setting there is: a fixed routine, a cleared performance area, and an audience kept at a distance.

Character robots for venues: Dynamic Creatures

The newest development is the quadruped as a costumed character. Fortune reported on 8 September 2026 that Dynamic Creatures, a start-up co-founded by Boston Dynamics' former chief strategy officer Marc Theermann and AI researcher Farbod Farshidian, had come out of stealth. Its examples include Danielle, a poodle-shaped character with lavender fur built on the Spot platform, and Hugo, a mountain troll still at prototype stage.

The company says it wants to help owners of intellectual property bring their characters to life, and it presents its robots as deliberately cartoonish, not as realistic humanoids or industrial machines.

It is still early. Fortune described the characters as internal experiments and mentioned no paying customers or public deployments, and its article did not cover how the robots would be made safe around guests. That is exactly the question a theme park or hotel would ask first. Until the company publishes deployments, treat this as an announced direction, not a proven format.

Guiding blind and low-vision people: still in research

Guiding is the role where a quadruped's shape makes the most intuitive sense, and where researchers are most careful. Several university groups are working on robotic guide dogs, mostly using small commercial platforms.

A May 2025 paper by researchers including Hochul Hwang and Donghyun Kim addressed a basic problem: walking noise. Using a Unitree Go1, the team built a locomotion controller that they report cut noise to about half that of the default controller. In indoor walking trials, blind and low-vision participants preferred it. Noise matters because these users rely on hearing to read their surroundings.

A March 2026 paper from a team including Ruiping Liu and Rainer Stiefelhagen points to a different gap. Sensors at a dog's height miss hazards at a person's height, such as overhanging branches. The researchers' system combines both viewpoints, and they report fewer collisions in tests with blindfolded participants.

Neither paper describes a commercial service. Both studies were small, and the second used blindfolded sighted volunteers rather than blind users. For events, the practical point is that a robot dog leading visitors around a venue is a research topic, not something you can book.

What robot dogs cannot do around crowds

Across the documented cases, the pattern is consistent. Quadrupeds are used where routes, distances and supervision can be controlled. The published material does not support several assumptions buyers sometimes make:

• Free roaming in dense crowds. None of the cases above shows a quadruped moving autonomously through a packed audience. The FIFA patrols run on perimeters, and the stage show used a cleared performance area.
• Unsupervised operation. In every case, trained people operate the robot or review what it reports.
• Guaranteed reliability. The America's Got Talent failure happened after more than 100 rehearsals.
• Seeing at human height. As the guide-dog research shows, low-mounted sensors can miss things that matter to the people around the robot.
• Long shifts without a break. Manufacturer runtimes of about 90 minutes for Spot and ANYmal mean a full event day needs battery swaps or charging breaks.

The standards side is still catching up. Our article on ISO 25785-1, the safety standard being drafted for legged robots, explains what is being worked on. This article is general information, not legal advice; check site-specific obligations with your venue and advisers.

What this means for event organisers

1. Match the role to the evidence. Patrols on controlled routes and choreographed performances have been shown in public. Free-roaming crowd interaction and guiding have not. Our comparison of a humanoid, robot dog or telepresence robot helps narrow the format.
2. Plan the space, not just the robot. Set aside a cleared zone, define the routes and assign a dedicated handler. The safety planning guide for public events lists what to agree in advance.
3. Ask about cameras and data. Security-style robots capture images by design. Agree what is recorded, where it is stored and how visitors are told.
4. Build in a fallback. Rehearse the failure case and have a plan for a show that keeps going if one robot stops.
5. Check which model is actually on offer. A 15 kg Unitree Go2 and a 34 kg Boston Dynamics Spot are very different machines to have near the public.

Frequently asked questions

Are robot dogs used for security at public events?

Yes, in limited roles. Boston Dynamics said in July 2026 that Spot was supporting FIFA security at the International Broadcast Center in Dallas and the NY/NJ stadium during the World Cup. The robots patrolled perimeters, stopped and captured images when they detected a person, and sent alerts to FIFA security staff, who made the final decisions. Boston Dynamics did not describe the robots patrolling inside spectator areas.

Can a robot dog walk freely through a crowd at an event?

None of the cases published by manufacturers or researchers shows a quadruped moving autonomously through a dense crowd. Documented uses rely on cleared areas, set routes and trained handlers. Spot weighs 33.8 kg according to Boston Dynamics, and runtimes of around 90 minutes are typical. That is why organisers usually plan a dedicated zone and supervision, not free roaming.

Can robot dogs replace guide dogs for blind people?

Not at present. Robotic guide dogs are an active research area. Recent papers address problems such as walking noise and hazards at head height that low sensors miss. These studies involve small groups of participants in controlled trials, and none describes a commercial guiding service. For now, a robot dog that guides visitors around a venue is a research concept, not a product you can book.

What is Dynamic Creatures?

Dynamic Creatures is a start-up that emerged from stealth in September 2026. It was co-founded by former Boston Dynamics chief strategy officer Marc Theermann and AI researcher Farbod Farshidian. It builds interactive character robots, including Danielle, a poodle-shaped character on the Spot platform, intended for entertainment and hospitality. Fortune described the characters as internal experiments, with no customer deployments reported at the time.

How this article was made: written by the humanoid4rent editorial team with AI assistance; every factual statement was checked against the sources listed below on 2026-10-31. Spotted an error? Write to info@humanoid4rent.com.