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have allowed more accurate
navigation. LIDAR imaging and
ranging sensors have become
affordable to fine-tune the robot’s
navigation suite. GPS and SLAM
navigation for accurate 3D mapping
along with AI have allowed more
autonomy for high-end robots.
Knightscope K5
One of the newest robots to
make the security scene is the
Knightscope K5. Rather than a robot
used to monitor a single business or
even a prison, the K5 seems to be
dedicated to roaming wide areas to
keep watch on people, possibly
locating individuals who might be of a
danger to the general population.
Looking like Star Wars’ R2D2
mated with a large egg on wheels,
the robot can be seen in Figure 12.
The company was formed after
the events of the December 2102
Sandy Hook school massacre and the
bombings at the Boston Marathon.
William Santana Li founded the
company “ ... with the ultimate goal of
providing an avenue for all Americans
to join the fight against crime.”
Based in Mountain View, CA (in
the midst of Silicon Valley),
Knightscope is looking at the poor
performance of many security
employees and the very high 400%
turnover rate of these people. They
intend to rent the robots at $6.25 per
hour and operate them in continuous
24 hour ‘deployments’ for periods of
one to three years.
The K5 can operate within a
structured environment that has many
people traveling at no more than 3
mph, whereas a K10 model will
operate in a more open area.
It will be an autonomous machine
using many of the sensors that I
mentioned earlier (such as LIDAR),
and possess pattern recognition for
license plates and human faces. It also
has directional microphones for
additional detection methods. Wheel
odometry, inertial measurement units,
GPS, and basic proximity sensors will
assist in robot navigation, as well as
human and obstacle avoidance.
This real time data will be stored
and used by law enforcement
agencies. It is not intended to replace
human guards or police officers, but
rather to enhance their capabilities.
There are no weapons attached
to the robot and it was designed to
be a bit harmless in appearance.
Knightscope calls the K5 an
autonomous data machine. Time will
only tell if this type of security robot
will incur the wrath of the general
population in the same manner as the
drone — especially with the K5’s many
intrusive data-gathering capabilities.
ALSOK Reborg-Q
Another interesting security robot
from Tokyo — the Reborg-Q shown in
Figure 13 — has been in the news
since 2006. Alsok began research on
security robots back in 1982 with the
intent of increasing the efficiency of
manned security. The Reborg is an
updated version of their earlier
Guardrobo, and weighs about 200
pounds. It can be programmed to
follow a patrol course or can be
remotely controlled via an RF link and
a joystick controller. It is able to push
the required buttons to use an
elevator. There are four cameras in the
head and shoulders to view, record,
and send back images and video to a
manned security center. Human
presence (ultrasonic and PIR) sensors
can detect people, water leakage, and
fire. At that point, security personnel
can review the images and make an
appropriate response.
A touchscreen is mounted in the
robot’s chest to display weather
updates, lost child information,
community danger messages, and
even promotional messages. A card
reader mounted on the robot can
permit it to serve as a guard at a
gatepost to allow or deny employees
or others entry into a business or
other facility.
Final Thoughts
The unrest in today’s world has
made advanced security and police
robots a must to protect our
communities and society. I have
concentrated on security robots and
concepts, but interested readers
should delve deeper on the Internet to
discover some amazing robots that
will soon be prowling our streets and
buildings to protect us. SV
Figure 12. Knightscope K5 security
robots.
Figure 13. Alsok’s Reborg-Q.
