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Chinese Security Robot Draws Dalek, Terminator Comparisons (abc.net.au)

Posted by msmash on from the so-it-begins dept.

An anonymous reader writes: China's first "intelligent security robot," which reportedly includes an "electrically charged riot control tool" and an SOS button for people to notify police, has been compared to the killer Dalek from Doctor Who after being shown off at a tech fair. Intelligence agency whistleblower Edward Snowden shared the news on Twitter with the caption: "Surely this will end well." The robot, unveiled at the 12th Chongqing Hi-Tech Fair, is 1.49 metres tall, weighs 78 kilograms, has a claimed top speed of 18 kilometres per hour and an operating duration of eight hours between charges, according to a report by People's Daily Online. Dubbed AnBot, it was built by the National Defence University in China and has "sensors that mimic the human brain, eyes and ears." The report said AnBot represented breakthroughs in "key technologies including low-cost autonomous navigation and intelligent video analysis" and would play an important role in anti-terrorism and anti-riot operations. AnBot has an SOS button for people to use to notify police of a problem, but it is unclear what criteria AnBot uses to assess threats autonomously.

16 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. Can it do stairs? by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 4, Funny

    Can it do stairs?

    1. Re:Can it do stairs? by npslider · · Score: 2

      That feature is coming in the next software update.

    2. Re:Can it do stairs? by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 4, Funny

      Can it do stairs?

      That depends on your definition of 'do'.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    3. Re:Can it do stairs? by Thud457 · · Score: 2

      Did you see the picture with the fine article? Of course you didn't.

      Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.

      So it can go down stairs. Up is a problem they're still working on.

      --

      the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

    4. Re:Can it do stairs? by jellomizer · · Score: 5, Funny

      It doesn't need to climb stairs. It levels buildings

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  2. Translation needed by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, how do you say "EXTERMINATE" in Mandarin Chinese?

    1. Re:Translation needed by jfdavis668 · · Score: 2

      Needs a plunger on the front, too.

  3. can be disabled with spraypaint by HongPong · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A well placed water balloon filled with paint, or spraypaint, would render it impossible to use the cameras. It would have to be protected from such low fi techniques somehow. There is always the question of asymmetry - cheap countermeasures against expensive tech. While very dystopian, this seems within the same bounds.

    --
    --hongpong.com
    1. Re:can be disabled with spraypaint by operagost · · Score: 2

      But they use face shields, and they're capable of wiping them off or getting a replacement if needed.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  4. I prefer to kill bacon by davidwr · · Score: 2

    baconsterminate! baconsterminate! hashbrownsterminate! pancakesterminate!

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  5. Chopping Mall (1986) by Smidge204 · · Score: 2

    Since it's a security robot, I immediately thought of the 1986 movie "Chopping Mall"

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt00...

    The resemblance is a bit better, too, I think.
    =Smidge=

  6. Re:Chinese Security Robot Draws Dalek by npslider · · Score: 2

    As a robot designed to potentially draw using its victims' blood, does it include a Universal Serial Killer Bus port?

  7. Knightscope robot? by mlts · · Score: 2

    This looks a lot like a Knightscope robot which is used to patrol Microsoft and Apple campuses. The robots in themselves at worst make a siren noise when toppled over, but are a good way to corner and take pictures of trespassers or would-be vandals.

    Of course, the same concerns happen... what keeps someone from donning a hoodie and sky mask, shoving the thing over just as an act of vandalism? It will make noise, but by the time actual humans with weapons get there, the perps will be long gone.

  8. Re:Tigers however do not relish the peach. by mlts · · Score: 2

    Or a law gets passed that makes attacks on a robo-patrolling unit be able to be treated the same as if done to a human, with deadly force able to be used. This is already being proposed with K-9 units, so that someone who dispatches a dog would get capital murder.

  9. represents breakthroughs in "key technologies"? by Bearhouse · · Score: 4, Informative

    Including "low cost" navigation and AI...yeah, right.

    What did they do, steal the latest tech from MIT and Google?

    Translated: "Latest piece of over-hyped junk that will fall down the first stairs it comes to whilst trying to zap a handicapped person with metal crutches"

  10. Re:Already been done in the US by cliffjumper222 · · Score: 2

    I was going to comment on this too. They are roaming around the Stanford shopping center doing mall-cop duties. They're very polite and usually get attacked by little kids jumping in front of them to make them stop. From what I could tell they don't do much except video everything (they have 4 or more cameras).