Security robots are beginning to join the ranks of human guards; this is what we know

(CNN) – From New York to Hawaii, security robots equipped with an array of sensors can be seen patrolling the perimeters of some residential communities and apartment buildings.

Security robots are quickly becoming a viable complement to human security guards, raising concerns about privacy issues and potential job losses in the security sector. Critics also question its effectiveness in protecting citizens.

Demonstrating its capacity as a reliable security solution is difficult: there is a lack of public data to prove it. However, experts and manufacturers say that its real strength lies in working together with security agents with its advanced technologies.

Here’s what we know about security robots.

Security robots possess a number of tools that humans lack, making them unique partners in security systems:

Security robots can operate 24/7 and excel at repetitive aspects of the job, such as sitting at a station or navigating a set route. Robots allow humans to perform practical tasks that require empathy and sympathy.

The K5 security robot is the best-known product of the Californian security technology and robotics company Knightscope.

These robots are not equipped with any type of lethal force, according to Knightscope co-founder and executive vice president Stacy Stephens.

Knightscope is not the only manufacturer of security robots either. Artificial intelligence and robotics company Cobalt AI makes a security robot that patrols hallways, offices and indoor facilities.

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It has a built-in screen that allows interaction between humans in real time, which enables remote communication between security agents and people who are on site.

Advanced robotics company Boston Dynamics makes a line of robots called “Spot,” which are used by police departments, manufacturers and construction companies. Its main objectives are to detect dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide and navigate dangerous environments, unsafe for humans.

Jay Stanley, a political analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), recognizes that the unique ability of security robots lies in performing tasks and navigating through areas that are unsafe for humans.

Security robots roam some streets in Atlanta and San Diego, among other American cities, and their presence extends to police departments, where they are integrated into police operations.

In 2023, New York Mayor Eric Adams and the city’s Police Department introduced a Knightscope K5 to patrol Times Square and the city’s subway network accompanied by a police officer.

Last February, the New York Police confirmed that the robot ended its testing period and was removed from the streets. No further information is available on the reasons why the robot did not continue to serve the city.

Earlier this year, Massachusetts State Police deployed a Boston Dynamics Spot, a four-legged robot, during a seven-hour standoff with a suspect in Boston, according to WHDHCNN affiliate. The Roscoe robot was shot while trying to locate the attacker.

Three K5 robots were deployed in San Diego earlier this year, according to CNN affiliate KFMB. One of them watches over the area of ​​an apartment community in Claremont, where it operates 24/7 to keep residents safe and scare away car thieves, according to the robot’s operator.

Earlier this month, an Atlanta apartment building deployed a K5 security robot, according to CNN affiliate WANF. Walk the sidewalks outside buildings to monitor the perimeter and protect residents.

John Hassard, security and loss prevention expert at Robson Forensic, says the strongest point of security robots is their ability to serve as a highly customizable extension of an existing security system.

“They’re not supposed to be commodity products, so if someone buys them, they already have a pretty good camera system that they’ve reasonably optimized,” he said. “This expands it. It makes that camera system more valuable.”

For example, Knightscope’s robots are designed to collaborate with existing security infrastructure and surveillance systems, according to Stephens.

Knightscope provides security software that allows robots to issue alerts when an anomaly is detected. Depending on the situation and the sensor used to detect a problem, an alert will be issued to the security system or the department where the robot is deployed and a guard will be asked to investigate the problem.

Robots can also be programmed for various outputs depending on the sensors they use. Robots deployed in a parking lot with license plate recognition can create lists of license plates to flag and alert security personnel.

Hassard also believes that security operations can reduce the number of guards they deploy with these devices, provided the location already has an effective surveillance infrastructure.

“The number of security guards could be reduced by replacing them with this,” he stated. “By default, this thing doesn’t take breaks, it doesn’t sleep, and you absolutely know what its responses are going to be.”

Experts and a robot manufacturer CNN spoke to agree on the deterrent capacity of security robots.

“When people walk onto a campus and see a big robot five feet tall, five feet wide, and weighing 180 kilos on which it says ‘security’ or ‘police,’ people start thinking about that.” “Knightscope’s Stephens explained.

According to Paul Scharre, executive vice president of the Center for a New American Security, the physical deterrence capabilities of robots can help defuse situations that could be aggravated by the presence of a police officer.

“If someone vandalizes a robot, you have a video recording of them committing an act of vandalism, you find that person and you prosecute them,” he explained. “No lives are lost, no one is affected in the incident.”

However, Scharre said robots can cause incidents because they have a physical presence.

“If the robot is labeled in some way as a security robot or police robot, it could be perceived by people as intrusive and intruding on their privacy,” he said.

What is not known, however, is what the data says about the deterrent effectiveness of these robots, Hassard said. The lack of data could be because companies don’t want to admit they have security problems, he added.

“Deterrence is a very important thing in security, because we don’t want to catch people doing things. We want to prevent them from doing it, which is difficult to measure,” she stated.

The ACLU’s Stanley said security robots can be a nightmare for citizens’ privacy.

“If these robots make decisions about who to monitor based on artificial intelligence, it raises huge questions about profiling, fairness and transparency,” he explained.

The lack of transparency of algorithms and robot intelligence is what worries Stanley. In the event that someone has an adverse interaction with the robot, there should be legal liability protections in place for whoever operates the robot, he said.

“And this applies to any type of artificial intelligence device, whether it is a robot or a simple algorithm that works with software,” he said.

For example, Knightscope’s robots do not have access to national crime databases and its mobile models are not equipped with facial recognition software, according to Stephens. However, Knightscope makes a stationary model of the K5 that can use facial recognition software.

People need to start thinking about how to interact with robots as they advance, according to Scharre.

“When security robots begin to be deployed, we will have to think about how we interact with the technology, how we perceive it and how people respond,” he said.

A future with more advanced and intelligent security robots, capable of more automated law enforcement and surveillance, could be an issue that needs to be addressed later, according to Stanley.

While the vision of security robots patrolling our streets seems like a glimpse of what’s to come, that future remains uncertain without a proven track record to back it up.

These robots are not immune to malfunctions nor are they programmed to perfection. In 2016, a K5 ran over and slightly injured to a little boy in a California shopping center. The following year, another K5 crashed into a fountain in an office building in the city of Washington.

Those failures and the lack of data raise another question. Stanley questions why a security or police department would choose to purchase a robot instead of traditional options such as static surveillance systems or human security guards.

“It’s hard for me to imagine that they will work soon in the market when there are other technologies that can do a job, and also when human beings can just do the job.”