Robot Dogs Are Being Tasked To Hunt For Lost $175M Of Bitcoin In Wastelands

After a man tragically threw away a hard drive containing 8,000 bitcoins in 2013, he conjured up a master plan to rescue the hard drive and claim his money.

According to an interview with Insider, James Howells made the unfortunate mistake of throwing away his bitcoins before the currency had its boom, and he is now willing to pay US$11 million to hire robot dogs to scour the wastelands of Newport, Wales, trash piles to retrieve them for him.

The estimated amount of his Bitcoin-farming has totaled about US$175 million. Needless to say, US$11 million is a small price to pay to retrieve what he has lost. But, with the way cryptocurrency fluctuates, that amount is set to change when—or if—he reclaims his hard drive.

The robot dogs he intends to hire come from Boston Dynamics. The dogs, called ‘Spot’, will be used as CCTV cameras to search through the grounds. The decision to hire two of the bots was so that one could search while the other charges.

Currently, it is thought that the hard drive is buried under 110,000 pounds of trash. The robots will be sent to dig through it and the footage will be sifted by humans and AI that has been taught to look into hard drives. 

Howells estimates the project will take three years to complete. 

Designed for industrial contexts, Spot was made commercial by the engineering and robotics company in June 2020 and has a retail price of US$74,500. The four-legged robots have been used for construction projects, to protect heritage sites, create art, and even patrol parks to ensure social distancing during the pandemic.

However, they now have a totally new job as treasure hunters.

Though, it seems like Howells won’t be the only benefactor from the money. He is looking at keeping 30% of the bitcoin for himself, giving 30% to the people who helped him and US$60 in crypto to each citizen of Newport. 

Insider also reports that Howells has been consistently rejected by the council to allow him access to the landfills. A council spokesperson tells the news outlet that the project poses an “ecological risk” and that there is nothing he can say that will convince them.

Still, Howells is trudging on in his fight and tells the publication he is meeting with his local member of Parliament to discuss the matter further.

Although, if you let sleeping dogs lie it could result in a US$175 million reward. 

[via Insider and New York Post, Photo 252546755 © Nguyen Quang | Dreamstime.com]