Crime-fighting robots take monotony out of security jobs

They’re not quite “Robocop,” the fictional gun-toting movie cyborg, but these “crime-fighting robots” are the wave of the future in crime deterrence, according to a Silicon Valley startup.

Knightscope’s machines combine computer hardware, software and human factors to provide a strong but friendly security presence, company officials said.

Knightscope was at the Linq this past week to demonstrate the robots. About 50 of the company’s robots are in use in 10 states, mainly by private security companies. Knightscope picked up its first order from a law-enforcement agency earlier this year when the Hillsborough County (Tampa, Fla.) Sheriff’s Office began using the robots.

The robots are not intended to eliminate the work of actual security guards, merely to enhance operations.

Guards carry out many routine tasks in a typical security environment, said Stacy Dean Stephens, vice president of marketing and sales for Knightscope. Boredom can lead to inattentiveness and turnover, Stephens said.

“You take those boring and monotonous jobs and allow a robot to do those. You let the humans do the strategic thinking and hands-on type of work,” Stephens said. “The whole purpose of the machine is to eliminate the constant monitoring.”

The robots search for anomalies — people in areas in which they shouldn’t be, alerts on automobile license plates and thermal events such as fires.

“Once they get an anomaly, it reports back to the security operations center and they get an alert,” Stephens said. “It’s exception-based reporting — things that are out of the ordinary.”

The robots mimic the senses of