Security guards are extremely useful, some would say necessary. But they can be quite expensive and there simply aren't enough of them to put them everywhere they need to be.
In Europe, people living in Switzerland have been privy to witnessing a patrol bot, developed by a robotics start-up from ETH Zurich called Ascento, that could soon take the place of human security guards. The machine has thus far been successfully acting as a guard for Swiss security firm Securitas AG.
A video released by ETH Zurich shows just how agile the new security guard is, allowing him to patrol many locations without missing a step (pun intended!) Clearly this new bot has got what it takes to monitor many locations and a variety of terrian but can it do so with the attention that a human can provide?
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In October of 2019, a RoboCop,a robotic patrol robot, made headlines when it refused to help a woman in need and simply kept asking her to stay out of the way. This was despite the fact that the woman was pressing the emergency button.
It was later reported that these HP RoboCops, built and leased by Knightscope, were not yet linked up to police departments. Instead, their emergency button called Knightscope, who then had to call the police.
Cosme Lozano, chief of police at Hungtington Park said at the time: "That’s why we’re not advertising those features. It’s a new program for us and we're still developing some protocols… to be able to fully adopt the program."
Just last month, the New York Police Department (NYPD) introduced a variety of crime-fighting robots to patrol subway stations throughout New York. According to a report, the new devices are part of pilot programs that will be rolled out in the summer.
“We are scanning the globe on finding technology that will ensure this city is safe for New Yorkers, visitors, and whomever is here in the city. This is the beginning of a series of rollouts,” said Mayor Eric Adams at the machines’ inauguration.
Let’s hope that these new robots in both cities will prove more successful at thwarting crime than the RoboCop did.
