Robots as security guards are not only an amusement to most, but are also a lot cheaper to employ than humans. What’s lacking though, is some form of people skills – and a recent incident in Palo, Alto confirms this.
A guard robot at Stanford Shopping, collided with a 16-month-old child, Harwin Cheng, and then apparently just kept driving. The child was not seriously injured but it’s still a cause for concern.
The child’s mother, spoke to ABC 7 about the incident and said
“The robot hit my son’s head and he fell down facing down on the floor and the robot did not stop and it kept moving forward. He was crying like crazy and he never cries.”
16 mo old has injuries to leg, foot after @StanfordShop security robot knocks him down and runs him over. #paloalto pic.twitter.com/tJdDNeFJq1
— Lilian Kim (@liliankim7) July 12, 2016
The robot involved in this incident is a Knightscope K5 – a five-foot, 300-pound machine which began trials in the mall last year.
The robot uses a selection of sensors and cameras to monitor its environment and gets around on wheels. Humans are not totally out of the guarding process, as human security guards can direct the robots to certain locations. The robot is then supposed to report any strange activity to a central guard station.
Fortunately the toddler walked away with just a swollen foot and a few scrapes, but the child’s parents are concerned that the robot could potentially hurt other small children.
Knightscope’s Vice President of Marketing and Sales told NBC Bay Area
“This is a horrific accident, but we believe the technology and the machines are incredibly safe and we will continue to do our best to make sure that they are”
The company is however investigating what could have gone wrong at the Stanford Shopping Center.