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Robot security guard are staples of most futurist sci - fi motion picture , video game and TV shows . They exist in real life as well , though the peck of a security system robot patrolling the streets is far from common .
The K5 Beta , a just - unveil image from California - establish company Knightscope , might change all that .
A bullet-shaped robot that stands about 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall, the K5 “security guard” looks a lot like the droid R2-D2 from the “Star Wars” films. And it may be able to help stop crimes before they happen.
A hummer - mold golem that stands about 5 feet ( 1.5 meters ) grandiloquent , the K5 looks a lot likethe droid R2 - D2from the " Star Wars " films . The K5 might not have all the feature of its similitude from a extragalactic nebula far , far aside . But what it does have , Knightscope representative say , is an onboard sensor regalia that can see , get word , touch and smell its surroundings . [ 5 rationality to Fear golem ]
The K5 can also combine that receptive data with " existing natural stage business , authorities and crowdsourced societal data set , and after assigns an alert tier that determines when a business , community or authorities should be notified of a business concern , " according to Knightscope ’s press release .
In other words , the K5 is supposed to flux its observations with public information on the social and financial statistics of its surroundings , and use the information to predict if , when and where a crime is likely to pass off .
If the K5 does observe that an " incident " is take place , it make all of its sensor data publically available via Wi - Fi , " to allow the entire community to review the information transparently and give extra relevant , substantial - time information , " Knightscope illustration enunciate .
Crowdsourced crime investigations have their pro and con , as anyone who followed the immediate aftermath of theBoston Marathon bombingknows well . Using Twitter , Boston occupier were able-bodied to inform others about the events skirt the attack and help oneself identify the alleged zep , but not before an innocent person was publically name as a defendant . Presumably , the K5 ’s software system will be capable to sieve through crowdsourced data to find the most worthful information .
The company was founded in response to another pestilent incident that gained internal attention : theshooting slaughter at Sandy Hook Elementary Schoolin Newtown , Conn. , in December 2012 .
" Our foresighted - term goal is to show that , with a combination of hardware , software program and community of interests involvement , we will , together , be capable to cut crime , " Knightscope CEO William Santana Li said in a assertion .
Many people are n’t comfortable with the idea of human police officers carrying video television camera or hoard a private database of footage , so it ’s improbable that the public would approve of camera - toting robots . The K5 ’s ability to make its collected information publicly available is intend , in part , to assuage those concerns , as Litold The New York Times . The idea is that people will experience more comfortable if the information the K5 collects is in everyone ’s paw , and not just the police or a private chemical group .
What ’s more , Knightscope representatives enunciate the K5 will be capable to save money . The golem operates at a cost of about $ 6.25 per hour , the New York Times news report — more than a dollar mark below the U.S. minimal hourly pay .
The K5 has just reach genus Beta testing , with no word on when it might become commercially available . However , " initial run deployment " are scheduled for 2014 , so the quite a little of a robotic security guard rolling through a school , mall , museum or city street might not be that far off .
