As the FIFA World Cup 2026™ continues across 16 host cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Boston Dynamics Spot® robots have taken on one of their most visible assignments yet: helping protect the largest sporting event in the world.

Spot on Patrol

Spot has been used for change detection across industries and verticals with customers in more than 40 countries. On patrol for manufacturers, Spot supports asset health as well as safety and compliance.

As Spot’s AI Visual Detection models get better over time, so does its utility for teams outside of reliability and maintenance. With the release of 5.1 earlier this year, Spot is now capable of running security-focused missions for customers who want additional eyes on their operations during off-hours. When Spot detects a person, it pauses, activates AV lights, captures PTZ, panoramic, and thermal images, triggers an alert, and resumes its route.

Security at the World Cup

As FIFA Security looked to new technology to support efforts for the 2026 World Cup, Spot’s latest features were a great fit. Complementing existing infrastructure, robots were deployed at the International Broadcast Center in Dallas, as well as NY/NJ Stadium—conducting perimeter patrols to support asset protection and risk detection.

“FIFA Security personnel have been utilizing Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots to ensure security and asset protection at select venues to help keep players, staff, media, and fans safe while attending the FIFA World Cup™,” said G.B. Jones, Chief Safety and Security Officer for the FIFA World Cup 2026™. “The robots have proved to be a valuable resource in our perimeter security efforts and their regular patrols are augmenting our security protections. Supporting FIFA’s broader commitment to innovation that benefits the football world, we are pleased to deploy cutting-edge technology like Spot to help keep people out of harm’s way.”

Augmenting, not Replacing

Consistent with its role across all deployments, Spot serves as a valuable partner to FIFA’s security personnel, working alongside them to enhance safety. Built to operate safely and in a human-friendly manner, the robot focuses on perimeter coverage and data collection, escalating findings to trained staff for final review. 

For a tournament spanning three countries, dozens of venues, and millions of attendees, that combination of tireless, repeatable patrols and human decision-making is exactly the model Spot was built for, scaled now to the world’s biggest stage.