Philadelphia Lowe’s stores are piloting security bots. But they’re much cuter and much less intimidating than RoboCop.
“The robots are here to protect and monitor you.” I can’t think of anything more frightening – can you???
Shoppers at Lowe’s stores throughout the Philadelphia region will now be greeted by robocops that record 360-degree HD video, detect thermal anomalies, and scan license plates in the parking lot.
Customers share the store aisles with something like a plastic egg, standing 5’2″ and weighing just under 400 pounds. Lowe’s K5 robot patrol model, designed in Silicon Valley, automatically recharges, and even during “break,” the cameras and sensors are still rolling.
Retailers are deploying robots to minimize the need for store employees or in-store security teams to stop and perhaps try to apprehend shoplifters.
Experts say it’s just the start of a robot security force, which could become commonplace in the next few years. And the data collected by these machines could also be used to monitor consumer behavior like when you shop, the clothes you wear, and vehicle you drive. First, though, humans will have to become much more comfortable ― and, in some cases, less hostile ― to the machines.
In 2015, the HitchBOT, a Canadian hitchhiking robot that traversed Canada, Germany and the Netherlands, was attacked and “decapitated” on the streets of Philadelphia. So far, humans seem more interested in taking selfies with the Lowe’s security bot and posting funny videos to YouTube and TikTok.
I’ve personally witnessed the minor mayhem directed at “Marty”, the roaming robot currently doing it’s bit for Stop and Shop. Customers enjoy surrounding Marty with products taken from the shelves causing him (it) to get “stuck” in position until a store associate arrives to remove the “road blocks”.
Robot security at stores, casinos, college campuses
Lowe’s contracted with the California-based Knightscope for its robot guards and a pilot program in the Philadelphia region.
Knightscope said its robots are now patrolling banks, casinos, college campuses, hospitals, data centers, and some community parks. Southeast of Los Angeles, the city of Huntington Park has machines labelled as “robocops” patrolling some public spaces.
“Robots could soon be everywhere, said Stacy Stephens, chief client officer for Knightscope. Knightscope’s technologies are already deployed from Hawaii to North Carolina, but we’re likely five years off from being ubiquitous,” said Stephens. “Our autonomous security robots can be seen today protecting the places people live, work, study and visit, including hospitals, malls, casinos, hotels, airports, and schools.”
Robots aren’t designed to replace human security or police, Stephens said. Yet, company brochures compare its robots to humans. Knightscope’s machines are described as “workaholics,” who perform 24 hours per day, seven days a week, and “don’t complain about it.”
The shift to robotics is inevitable, said Cathal Walsh, chief security officer for Guidepost Solutions, a global security consultant.
After the pandemic and labor shortages, companies are looking to robots to perform routine tasks, said Walsh. “Robots do an exceptional job as an eyewitness with multiple cameras, It captures so much information without relying on someone’s memory.”
“It’s not going to replace all humans, but there’s definitely an equation here,” Walsh added. “People will become more accepting of this technology. As culture adapts and the price point comes down, we will see many more of these robots.”
Yet robots will also provide companies with much more than security, said Gregory Hatcher, a cyber security consultant and former senior network engineer for the U.S. Army Special Forces. Robots will help collect consumer data on “pattern of life” for companies seeking to sell products, Hatcher said.
Robots are also very likely to replace some human labor. To say that (artificial intelligence) and robots aren’t replacing jobs is just inaccurate. This is the new normal.
As consumers, we have to wonder where all this data is going and just how secure it might be when it gets there.
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