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Knightscope has tried to deliver this (security guard mobile robot) for years, with decidedly mixed results: >In December 2017, the San Francisco SPCA rented a

Knightscope has tried to deliver this (security guard mobile robot) for years, with decidedly mixed results: >In December 2017, the San Francisco SPCA rented a Knightscope K5 robot to patrol the area next to their animal shelter, including the public sidewalk, to deter vandalism. The SPCA received complaints about using a robot on a public sidewalk where homeless people were encamped, and the robot was covered with a tarpaulin and smeared with barbecue sauce; the SPCA discontinued the contract. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knightscope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knightscope

lostlogin 5y ago
> the robot was covered with a tarpaulin and smeared with barbecue sauce A seasoned veteran. This is going to be a problem everywhere as robots are rolled out - people don’t like them.
- tailspin2019 5y ago
  > This is going to be a problem everywhere as robots are rolled out - people don’t like them. Yeah this is a big problem, especially for unaccompanied autonomous robots. I’m very bullish on this stuff in technological progress terms, but I’d still dislike seeing these things on the street unaccompanied. At best you’re being remotely recorded/streamed/observed/stalked by some anonymous remote operator (and the internet has taught us a lot about what human behaviour is like when there is total anonymity). At worst it’s packed with explosives. I’m not sure how we deal with this issue. I guess there will be a big difference between how accompanied vs unaccompanied robots will be viewed. A bit like a large dog wondering about on its own would be treated with a lot more caution than one accompanied by its owner!
  - gcheong 5y ago
    Might work well as a patrol of private property in a “release the hounds” kind of way.
- anonydsfsfs 5y ago
  People don't like security guard robots that look like security guard robots. There's an easy answer to that: make it cute. I don't have any hard numbers, but I'd be willing to bet people are much less likely to vandalize a robot that looks like Wall-E than one that looks like ED-209, even if they do exactly the same thing.

lostlogin 5y ago

> the robot was covered with a tarpaulin and smeared with barbecue sauce A seasoned veteran. This is going to be a problem everywhere as robots are rolled out - people don’t like them.

tailspin2019 5y ago
> This is going to be a problem everywhere as robots are rolled out - people don’t like them. Yeah this is a big problem, especially for unaccompanied autonomous robots. I’m very bullish on this stuff in technological progress terms, but I’d still dislike seeing these things on the street unaccompanied. At best you’re being remotely recorded/streamed/observed/stalked by some anonymous remote operator (and the internet has taught us a lot about what human behaviour is like when there is total anonymity). At worst it’s packed with explosives. I’m not sure how we deal with this issue. I guess there will be a big difference between how accompanied vs unaccompanied robots will be viewed. A bit like a large dog wondering about on its own would be treated with a lot more caution than one accompanied by its owner!
- gcheong 5y ago
  Might work well as a patrol of private property in a “release the hounds” kind of way.
anonydsfsfs 5y ago
People don't like security guard robots that look like security guard robots. There's an easy answer to that: make it cute. I don't have any hard numbers, but I'd be willing to bet people are much less likely to vandalize a robot that looks like Wall-E than one that looks like ED-209, even if they do exactly the same thing.