Real-Life RoboCop Guards Shopping Centers In California (metro.co.uk)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Metro: While machines from the likes of RoboCop and Chappie might just be the reserve of films for now, this new type of robot is already fighting crime. This particular example can be found guarding a shopping center in California but there are other machines in operation all over the state. Equipped with self-navigation, infra-red cameras and microphones that can detect breaking glass, the robots, designed by Knightscope, are intended to support security services. Stacy Dean Stephens, who came up with the idea, told The Guardian the problem that needed solving was one of intelligence. "And the only way to gain accurate intelligence is through eyes and ears," he said. "So, we started looking at different ways to deploy eyes and ears into situations like that." The robot costs about $7 an hour to rent and was inspired by the Sandy Hook school shooting after which it was claimed 12 lives could have been saved if officers arrived a minute earlier.

Comments

Does it have the special cop capabilities

[NotInHere]

can it detect whether somebody is black or white, in order to find out whether to shoot them at sight?

Re:Does it have the special cop capabilities

[davester666]

These things are just begging to be hacked to say something like "I am authorized to use lethal force if you do not put down that weapon in 10 seconds. Nine....." to anybody coming in range, say every couple of days. Just often enough to totally freak someone out, but rare enough that regular, human security thinks they are crazy.

Makes sense

[rsilvergun]

Most of what mall cops do is make people feel watched. It's the kind of work that's ripe for automation.

Real-life?

[Livius]

This is a cool technology and it's serving a practical need.

But as soon as someone says "Real-Life RoboCop" and then backpedals to a kind of surveillance drone, none of the rest of it has any credibility.