To say this is not paid by taxpayers because it’s funded thru a Federal grant means you don’t understand how Federal grants work.
What are Daxbots?
Created by Oregon-based tech company Dax, Hoboken deployed these robotic surveillance scanners on July 13, 2026 to conduct a month-long survey. The Daxbots will be collecting all manner of data regarding ADA accessibility, pedestrian safety, and overall infrastructure conditions. Now, before I get into my rant, let me say that I totally understand the need for a study of this type in Hoboken. Some sidewalks are difficult to walk for able-bodied folks, while being nearly impossible for anyone with a disability. So I applaud the city’s efforts to size up the situation and hope the results are processed quickly so repairs can be seen to. However, I have to question the need (and the cost) of using these cheerfully creepy spawns of sci-fi.
Problem 1: The Cost to Taxpayers
Yes, I know that Hoboken claims these Daxbots are not costing the city taxpayers anything because they are being paid for thru a Federal grant of approximately $450,000. Now, to say this is not being paid for by taxpayers because the money comes from a Federal grant means you don’t understand how Federal grants work. These grants are funded by federal income taxes and other revenue sources paid for by citizens and businesses. The money comes from us. You and me. Maybe not thru local, sales, or property taxes but from taxes nonetheless. All government projects — big or small — are funded thru our taxes.
Problem 2: The Human Factor
Even though they say this is not being paid for by taxpayers, they still feel the need to brag about the savings of this vs. other programs. It’s estimated to be 24% less than applying other methods such as humans walking the streets with GPS monitors, taking pictures, and jotting down notes. I think they’re missing the point. While I’m all for using technology to improve life in general, nothing compares to the human factor. Just in terms of agility alone as several droids have gotten stuck in floods or hung up at particularly difficult passages.
The higher cost would have eventually worked its way back into the community because paying people to work locally inspires them to spend locally. Robots can’t do that. With times being so difficult for both citizens and businesses, wouldn’t it be a better use of the money to hire students, unemployed individuals, or retirees? Just ask NYC. For example, their recent snow removal program not only helped clear the streets of dangerous conditions, it helped people who needed a boost as well. There are still enough folks in Hoboken struggling to make ends meet that would have justified the extra money spent.
Problem 3: Leaping Without Looking
Hoboken has ADHD. It always falls under the spell of anything shiny and new. Its quest to be among the first — if not the first — to do something always has its consequences. This urge of immediacy often gets outshone by what later becomes obvious shortcomings. Remember when Hoboken acquired a bunch of oversized, overpriced Segways to patrol the streets? That failed when those fleeing realized they could simply step up onto a curb or into a crowd to evade capture. I saw it happen when officers attempted to patrol the densely crowded Arts and Music Festival and they’d get stuck in the muck of people.
More recently, the city redesigned a section of Grand Street in the name of bicycle safety. They created a protected bike lane between the curb and the parked cars by moving the parking spaces further into the street. They got this idea from NYC and Jersey City but in those areas, the streets are much wider. Hoboken then invested in a smaller street cleaner to maintain the bike lane so drivers could leave their cars indefinitely. Then, it snowed. A lot. The plows could not get thru the now narrower street. That section of Grand Street has since become a new Snow Emergency Route. Anytime it snows, even more residents have to scramble to find alternate parking.
Problem 4: The Surveillance Conspiracy Theory
I’m not a conspiracy theorist at all. JFK? One shooter. 9/11? Hijacked planes. Elvis Presley? Dead. I don’t buy into the idea that something deeper and darker is behind everything, but this age of ubiquitous surveillance makes me justifiably suspicious. Information from these rolling cameras and sensors has to be stored and monitored somewhere, right? I’m not saying that the City of Hoboken would use gathered information for nefarious reasons, although they could. However, chances of it being used by the Dax company who operate these droids or sold to third parties for invasive marketing are quite high. Encouraging people to take selfies and tag the Daxbots in posts adds to that possibilty. And thanks to the Patriot Act, it could all be mined by the Federal Government.
Tech companies are always up to something screwy when it comes to personal information. Meta got caught turning on the cameras of unsuspecting Facebook users. They said that’d stop. Then they got caught doing it with Instagram. They said they’d stop. Then they got caught doing it again with Facebook. Google feeds search results to users based on previous searches. If your iPhone simply hears you talking about something, you will get served advertisements on any number of platforms. I once got a reminder of a flight out of Georgia on my phone because I had printed a boarding pass that a friend had emailed me. The algorithms of all social platforms analyze user habits to manipulate their feeds. There are never any true consequences for these actions. So what’s to stop Dax?
In Conclusion
Do I think Hoboken streets and sidewalks are in desperate need of rehab? Absolutely. Do I think that technology could play a part in conducting the study needed to reach those goals. Absolutely. Do I think it should be a handful of overpriced and awkward little robots? Absolutely not. I know there’s nothing that can be done to change this as it’s already begun but I do hope for future programs, the city considers the abundant resources at hand. Local residents who have both the skills to do the job and the need for financial help would benefit the entire community in so many ways. Think about it.
Cheers!
Stephen
