Rise of the Robot Security Guards MIT Technology Review (11/13/2014) Metz, Rachel The startup Knightscope has been developing a robot called K5 that promises to free private security guards from the monotonous and sometimes dangerous work they have to perform, giving them more time to perform strategic tasks, says company co-founder Stacy Stephens. So far, the company has built seven of the machines and plans to deploy four of them by the end of the year. The robot is designed to monitor areas such as corporate campuses, schools, and shopping malls for unusual behavior, such as unauthorized visitors at night, and reports its findings to a remote security center. The K5 is built with high-definition cameras, microphones, a weather sensor, navigation equipment, and electric motors in a dome-shaped body, along with a rechargeable battery and a computer. Multiple robots use Wi-Fi or a wireless data network to communicate with each other and the remote security center. The K5 is built with several warning alarms, including a chirp if someone tries to detain it and a loud alarm that prompts an operator to check in. If a person needs help, he or she can press a button near the top of the robots head to call for someone remotely. Knightscope says its robots will cost $6.25 an hour to operate, which is less than half the hourly wage for security guards.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 17:35:05 +0000