The robot will allow a single human to patrol large outdoor areas that would normally require heavy manning, but at a lower cost, developers say.
Security firms around the world are considering deploying robots for patrol duties in response to labor shortages and heightened safety concerns.
In Europe, people living in Switzerland have witnessed autonomous two-wheeled robots roaming the country for the past six months.
The patrol bot was developed by ETH Zurich robotics startup Ascent and works as a security guard for the Swiss security company Securitas AG.
Ascent said its patrol robots are providing an additional layer of security and improving operational efficiency at several test sites, including a rail depot in Switzerland.
It has wheels as foldable “legs” and “feet”. Its “head” houses computers, batteries, sensors and cloud-based AI.
“It can go over flat terrain, it can go over obstacles, and it can even go on.” [up] Just take a step or two, because it uses wheels and legs,” said Ascent CEO and founder Alessandro Morra.
Thermal cameras detect people and vehicles, and 360° cameras capture images of the surroundings. Robots can communicate with backup operators in the control center via live feeds.
Ascento plans to further develop the bot to generate automated daily security reports.
Robots that can be rented by the hour
According to the company, its robotic guards allow a single human guard to efficiently cover large outdoor areas that are typically labor-intensive to patrol and cost less than human guards. It can be covered.
Ascento’s original idea was to develop a robot that could jump upstairs, but discussions with the industry revealed a demand for larger, more robust robots.
“When you jump, there is still a certain amount of potential for problems. So the next version is bigger and doesn’t jump anymore, and that’s how this whole iteration started,” Mora said.
When he was a student at ETH Zurich, he worked as a security guard until the company spun off.
“We chose the security market because this is where it’s really hard to find people right now. They have to work long hours and in any weather conditions. We did this work ourselves, but it’s really demanding,” Mora said.
“We wanted to help, but our robots can make life much easier for these guards,” he added.
In the future, the robots will be rented by the hour to supplement a security company’s human security team.
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