drowning robots

This topic has 4 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 4 months ago by zn.

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July 17, 2017 at 11:57 pm #71064

zn
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July 18, 2017 at 11:08 am #71067

zn
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Security robot ‘drowns itself’ in office fountain

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/07/18/security-robot-drowns-office-fountain/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_fb

It probably wasn’t what the proud makers of this robot had in mind when they promised to build a machine that could replace human security guards.

An autonomous security robot designed to patrol car parks and buildings appears to have taken its life into its own hands by driving into a fountain in an office building in Washington DC.

The Knightscope K5, an rocket-ship shaped droid that stands aroud 5-feet tall, is fitted with GPS, lasers, sensors and cameras that are meant to help it monitor its surroundings.

The robot is meant to spot misdemeanours and parking violations and identify known criminals, moving at around 3 miles per hour and avoiding law-abiding citizens.

But this particular robot, for reasons as yet not known, appears to have driven down the steps of the fountain in the middle of the office and ended up floating sideways, rendering it immobile. It was removed, although is likely to have been permanently damaged.

Knightscope, the company behind the droid, said it was investigating the incident and that it was an isolated event.

But that didn’t stop people drawing comparisons to Marvin, the paranoid robot from The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy series, and speculating that things might have just become too much for the K5.

It is not the first time that the robot has found its way into trouble. Last year, it knocked over a toddler at a shopping centre in California, leaving them bruised, but carried on as if nothing had happened.

July 18, 2017 at 1:15 pm #71069

wv
Participant

Maybe it just ‘looks’ like suicide. Maybe it was…murder.

w
v

July 19, 2017 at 9:59 am #71078

nittany ram
Moderator

SCIENTIST: We shall give them human souls

DAY 1: pic.twitter.com/fp1OzWsqMp

— Brian Doyle (@WritePlay) July 19, 2017

July 22, 2017 at 11:24 pm #71175

zn
Moderator

wv wrote:

Maybe it just ‘looks’ like suicide. Maybe it was…murder.

w
v

Drowned security robot wasn’t a victim of foul play
It clearly wasn’t following procedure, though.

https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/22/the-day-the-security-robot-died/

By now you’ve probably heard of that security robot that fell into a fountain in Washington, DC– it’s practically the stuff of legend as far as the internet is concerned. But what really happened on that tragic day? We’re starting to get a clearer picture. Bisnow has learned that the robot, a Knightscope K5 nicknamed Steve, was neither the victim of a pushy human nor showing signs of trouble before it took its fateful plunge. It was supposed to follow a prescribed route that kept it out of harm’s way, so the robot had to have made a decision to veer off the beaten path. Management and security staff had trained with the robot days before, too. But what was the cause?

That’s still unknown, although it’s safe to say Steve wasn’t bemoaning the state of politics or suffering from existential dread. It’s possible that a software glitch led to the deadly change in course, or that weather threw it off.

The dive isn’t deterring anyone involved. The property is using a replacement robot at the moment, and Steve is expected to make a recovery once he gets repairs. He may have “died,” but he’s not gone forever. MRP Realty, which deployed Steve, clearly isn’t deterred — it wants to implement more of Knightscope’s robots at other properties within 3 to 6 months. However, it’s safe to say that both MRP and Knightscope will be combing over the data from this incident to reduce the chances of another tumble.
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