https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/25/san-antonio-airport-security-robot-texas-knightscope
City council approves year-long contract with Knightscope to rent a K5 robot to respond to door alarms at the airport
This is not going to be utilized for surveillance – in no purposes whatsoever. This is not to surveillance individuals. This is a response to door alarms that occur at the airport
I don't buy it. Why not a camera on the doors then? The thing moves 3mph. If it's got to travel to the door I doubt the person who opened the door is still going to be there.
“Daily, we have door alarms that are opened inappropriately, inaccurately or by accident, and it requires a response, based on the federal regulations that we have to adhere to, to maintain an overall security posture of the airport,” said Saenz, the San Antonio Report reports.
Here's an idea... how about a camera?
Out of all features a security robot may possess, why is the weight the thing that gets to be in the headline? Why not its colour or maybe taste?
"That security robot is serious business, it's got to be at least 30 stone heavy!" says Bob the Burglar who doesn't even use metric units.
My guess is that the "420" part was so funny the writer just had to put it in the headline
Or as some people call it: a walking art canvas. It's in America, so you know it's gonna be vandalized almost immediately.
Whenever I think of autonomous public robots I think of Hitchbot and his untimely demise in Philadelphia.
I’ve seen what 250lb/113kg BattleBots can do to fellow BattleBots. I’m not sure I want to see what a 420lb/190kg security bot can do to squishy human meatsacks.
Not just any Roomba. A Roomba that phones home to the Police Dept. This thing might only move 3mph but those airport police certainly won't be.
I saw one of these things at Lowe's the other day. It was just standing in one spot not appearing to do anything, which I assume means it's used for surveillance.
From the article it looks like it's supposed to respond to door alarms and allow the security room to grant or deny access. Seems like a camera and security kiosk at each restricted door would be cheaper and more efficient, no need to wait for the 400+ lb robot that might be stuck of the charger to come.
I could see this as a stop-gap measure though.
Is this the same RoboCop we got in NYC? It didn't last since it couldn't go up and down stairs in the most inaccessible city in the US.
