M-Bot or BBot - Today's Technology Snippet

May 2nd M-Bot or BBot – Today’s Technology Snippet

Who remembers when Robocop premiered? I’d completely forgotten about the movie until I read the an article in The Gazette about BBot penned by Katie Rice of Orlando Sentinel this morning. Headline read Robocop BBot (Bringing Bravery Out Together) will ‘walk’ the beat at Florida convention center.

Now this security robot doesn’t look a thing like Robocop. In fact, it’s reminiscent of something out of Star Wars. R2 D2 maybe?

The five-foot-two-inch egg-shaped K5 machine from robotics security company Knightscope arrived at the convention center and will soon clock in for its first shift in early May. The Convention Center is Orlando’s first major tourism business to deploy an autonomous security machine among the public.

BBot is on a one-year trial run that costs about $55,000. The Florida Convention Center could consider expanding its robot fleet, if the pilot program works well.

Isiah White, Security Manager for the venue, emphasized using BBot to assist its human security staff, not replace it. Humans will still patrol the facility along with the robot. They will monitor BBot from the command center and use the robot’s two-way intercom to talk to visitors.

This is the wave of the future.

Robot servers and bussers rolled into Florida’s restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic to entertain customers and cover staff shortages.

Six Flags began piloting security robots from the Robotic Assistance Devices company at two theme parks in Texas and California early last year. Will Orlando theme parks be next? In these examples, research suggests employers recognize automation’s limitations and are using them to assist human workers, not replace them.

Oh, and a robot, MBot is a hit with guests, staff at M Resort in Henderson, NV. M-Bot is a 5-foot, 450-pound robot equipped with 50 cameras and sensors that patrols the property’s exterior.

Colorado, time to catch up. I’ve not seen any type of robotic assistance in the state. How about your state?

Ok, I stand corrected. At the Space Symposium held in Colorado Springs around the 20th of April, Spot a for-legged Boston Dynamic robot, available for commercial purchase, was prancing around an exhibit hall booth. But to my knowledge there are no robots in commerical use in Colorado.

So you can relax. robots are not set to take over the world—yet.

By the way, RoboCop premiered July 17, 1987.