RT NewsThe local neighborhood watch may be beefing up its robotic arsenal if a new technology startup gets its way anytime soon.
In a bid to make local communities safer and give local law enforcement agencies more tools to fight crime, California-based Knightscope recently unveiled a line of K5 robots that it believes will “predict and prevent crime with an innovative combination of hardware, software and social engagement.”
The new K5 units have a look that resembles R2-D2 from “Star Wars,” but their casual design masks a highly advanced robot that its creators hope will drastically cut down on crime. Weighing in at 300 pounds, the five-foot K5 can patrol a neighborhood and uses a built-in laser to form a 3D map of the surrounding area in 270-degree sweeps. Four built-in cameras, meanwhile, are capable of scanning up to 1,500 license plates a minute.
Image from knightscope.com
“Data collected through these sensors is processed through our predictive analytics engine, combined with existing business, government and crowdsourced social data sets, and subsequently assigned an alert level that determines when the community and the authorities should be notified of a concern,” the company’s website states.
According to Fox News, Knightscope already has multiple clients lined up to test beta versions of the K5 in 2014. Rather than sell the robots outright, the company will charge $1,000 a month for daily eight-hour shifts. Inspired to take action after 20 children were killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, Knightscope CEO William Li is convinced that innovation in law enforcement is necessary to effectively make use of officers’ time and manpower.
“Our aim is to cut the crime rate by 50% in a geo-fenced area, which would increase housing values and safety while lowering insurance costs,” he told USA Today. “If we can do that, I think every mayor will be calling us.”
Image from knightscope.com
That prospect doesn’t sound comforting to everyone, however, especially civil liberties advocates wary of warrantless surveillance in light of the domestic spying done by the National Security Agency.
“Clearly, this kind of surveillance technology has an unbounded capacity to collect personal information that a single patrol officer doesn’t,” Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the watchdog group Electronic Privacy Information Center, said to USA Today.
“These are the same concerns we’re facing with CCTV (closed-circuit television) and Google’s mapping cars. Laws need to be updated to acknowledge these technologies, and companies, in turn, need to act responsibly.”
One such law is currently being considered in California, where a recently introduced bill would impose restrictions on the use of surveillance drones. The proposal would ban the use of unmanned aerial drones in the state without a court-issued warrant, potentially calming concerns that government agencies could abuse the technology.
As RT reported last week, a study by the Electronic Frontier Foundation found predator drones flew over 700 missions between 2010 and 2012 on behalf of numerous agencies, including local law enforcement. Cattle rancher Rodney Brossart of North Dakota became the first American to be arrested with the help of a drone back in 2011. He was just recently sentenced to three and a half years in prison for terrorizing local police, though his attorney argued the drone was dispatched without a warrant.
http://rt.com/usa/california-company-android-robocops-knightscope-645/
Aim your microwave oven at it….or just throw in in the back of the pickup!!
“Webbles wobble, but dont fall down” hit this thing with a skateboard and its going over…
Can this R2-D2 send out taser shocks and fly, too?
Does it send out a holographic message of Princess Leia saying, “Help me NC. You’re my only hope.”?
Was thinking more (after someone has knocked the pos over), “I’ve fallen & I can’t get up”.
Hahaha! That works too.
This thing is such a joke and a waste of taxpayers money. Kinda like the government we have now.
The creator of Dr. Who should sue this company for copyright infringement…those things look like Daleks!
My Fellow Patriots:
I think the obvious was missed here.
This first generation of robocop is intentionally made, inoffensive, non-threatening,.. even is suppose to suggest something as safe and mundane as a childs toy,… the weeble.
From an engineering point of view, given the expected tasks this device will be engaging in,.. its design makes little sense. It should be hardened, more stable in geometry, and given its “law enforcment” objective,.. just a little more authoritative in appearance,… but is not,…. that is 100% intentional.
They desgined this to begin the indoctrination process of “accepting” have fully automated, 100% duty cycle, government control mechanisms, and the intrusions into every aspect of our lives.
Here is the progression:
After having people become accustomed to having 24/7 of gov’t fully mobile surveillance, then they introduce the 2nd generation model, which is less, “cute”,… then the 3rd generation, which is far more threatening and militarized looking,.. then comes full on,…. “create fear just by its presence” model, complete with offensive and defensive capabilities, including deadly force.
That whole process will take less then 5 years.
It either stops here and now,.. or get ready for the next evolution in total gov’t control systems,.. including the eventual real life version of Terminators (robocops).
This can NOT be allowed to go any further!
JD – US Marines – These are roving target practice,.. and must not allowed to EVER be expanded upon.
Yeah greed. That’s usually how it seems to go.
~John Adams
Hi Cynicles,
YES!!!,.. thats the quote I was trying to recall on this afternoons radio show!
Thanks,.. I am actually going to write it down in my notes here so I will have it on hand should the subject surface again,.. which I am sure it will. – JD
Yea, I guess that’s why we were once called, “God’s Country”.
Youve seen to many movies…just like TPTB…will never work in reality!!!!!
Hi arf,
Your right,.. those aren’t American drones over there in dozens of countries killing innocent men, women and children EVERYDAY,… NO!!!,.. that’s not it all arf,…. they are all,…. uhmmmm,.. hmm,.. “committing suicide”,.. and trying to blame it on our “surveillance” aircraft!,.. ?,… Yeah!,.. that’s it!,.. its just stupid foreigners killing themselves and blaming in on America!
So,.. your right arf,.. we would NEVER be spying on our own people (or the whole world),.. we would NEVER have drones ALREADY exterminating innocent people every day for years on end now,… and of course,.. we would NEVER use any military technology here, at home,… like militarizing our police,.. or creating internal military forces like DHS, or TSA, putting spy cameras EVERYWHERE,.. listening devices in lamposts, or on buses, or watching EVERYTHING you do thru your computer or iphone,… or giving local police MRAP’s (combat vehciles), or say,,.. oooohhh,…. about 1.3 or 1.4 BILLION hollow point point rounds that is actually ONLY to be used in one kind of circumstance,… killing people,.. here,.. in the USA. (Why,.. they could NEVER do any of that!??? could they?)
Whew!,.. ok,.. great news arf,.. I’m glad you straightened me out!,… I was worried by everything I SEE happening,.. instead of listening to people like you,… to ignore it.
JD – US Marines – My fellow patriots – arf is one of those people who may feel a small sense of shock as the 40 caliber hollow point is entering the back of his head,.. but that is just another guess on my part. Good luck arf.
First off ya got a find me to place that .40…good luck there…Im invisable!! Get off your high tech crap…the VC beat the worlds biggest military, with all the high tech of the day, unlimited troops, B-52’s, agent orange, helo’s and on and on…with sks’s, ak’s, rpg’s, rice balls and bicycles..go figure, huh?? The high tech US military thought guns would not be needed on fighter jets…F-4 desighed without one but they found their high tech missles just couldnt do the job when the north keep shooting down F-4’s with mig 17’s….theirs your high tech…and lets not forget the all mighty US military thinking it a good idea to send troops into a jungle without chromed chambers in their M16’s…that went well…lots of m16 clubs around…The VC won because they had RIGHT and WILL on their side…Period…
Ok arf,
What ever you say.
A bunch of jungle monkeys did not beat your military,… we tied our own military down so it could be beaten.
Hell,.. we even made it incredibly easy for the VC by making Hanoi OFF LIMITS to any bombings, so naturally thats where the VC kept all their SAM’s and other valuable (expensive) hardware.
The whole reason Vietnam was NEVER declared a war is because Rockfellar was the one SELLING all the AK’s (and other materials) to the VC, which he could have been held for treason IF a state a war was ever declared.
As for the chorme barrel issue,.. yes, it cost the lives of several US Marines at one particular fire-base, among other American lives as well, but then acting Secretary Of Defense, McNamara (a bean counter) felt the ADDITIONAL cost of a $1.50 per barrel was to excessive, so decided to send the first several thousand rifles to a jungle enviroment knowing full well they would rust up.
F-4’s: Again,.. it WAS orginally designed with guns,.. but once again,… WASHINGTON politicians felt the EXTRA cost was to,… “excessive”.
No,.. Vietnam was suppose to drag on endlessly to feed the MIC (Military-Industrial-Complex), so Washington DC interfered with the military and operations every single day to ensure we never got the edge needed to win,… its that simple,.. but you go on believing we Americans couldn’t POSSIBLY have beaten a bunch of jungle monkeys if we really wanted to.
If you want to understand war,.. you first need to understand MONEY, FINANCES, and political power.. and the people behind them,… because that is where the outcome to wars are really decided.
We’re done. – JD
YEAH, kind of like the talaban just beat the US in afganistan…”the destroyer of empires”…You fall to see the BIG picture…We are the world’s next failing empire…Nobody can stop it now!
You are way to full of yourself JD…You will be the first picked up or dropped…Maybe a little out of touch?? What would the NSA think of your posts?? YEAH, Id grab your type first…
Arf,
I tried to be nice, and educate you just a little in the hopes you would do the follow-up research yourself,.. but its clear,.. your a jack-ass.
Please, NEVER talk or address me again for the remainder of your life.
Thank you for understanding. – JD
WOW!! bet ya wished the NSA would take that and just leave ya alone…Wondering how youd respond to actually getting shot at? Seeing ya cant take a few comments…Just who wouldnt see the .40 coming?? Yeah, YOU!!!
JD, your a FEAR MONGER!!! Maybe getting paid to do it…
arf,
you may be partially right that the Taliban and alqaida held us up in Iraq and afganistan, but don’t believe the crap that you were fed by msnbc and your other channels. You may be right that tech can be defeated, but there are a lot of dead people around the world that died because of American tech. It doesn’t make it right or just, but they are no less dead. People like you that believe it is gonna be easy to beat the communists over here are fooling yourselves and others or is that what you came here for? JD is 100% correct. Step 1: A nice cute little robot just out to help people. Step 2: they start killing you with all the tech that you claim is useless. Wake up and prepare to fight these bastards arf! They will kill you just like the rest of us and they will use whatever means they can to do it. This cute little R2D2 robot is just the beginning.
one more thing, don’t talk about how we were defeated in the middle east based only on what you have seen on the idiot box. Unless you have done the research or been there, go back to reruns of Army wives and let the adults try to prepare people for what we will be facing soon.
JMHO!
arf @ 11:30 pm,
You come at us from your secret squirrel spider hole and actually think you are going to come on From the Trenches and insult my brother in arms, JD?
Interesting, you launched your bullshit in the middle of the night when you knew it would stay up for a while.
And don’t pretend you don’t know who JD is. He is on every page on this site and your ass is now in spam. Enjoy your hiding, arf, barf.
Bye.
Didn’t see THAT comin’. LOL
Henry,
I go out of town for a couple days and I miss all of the fun!
yep JD, frog in the frying pan
So this thing can scan people’s faces as it goes by. I’ll f**king kick the damn thing. I give it no permission. Violation of 4th Article. Everyone should start beating that thing to a pulp with a bat and hammer.
I find the music in the video both hilarious and pathetic. They make it sound like people should fear it as it comes by scanning everything in its path as it probably uploads everything it sees to a central computer somewhere in real-time.
I say screw it! They want to come and get me, send a human. I’m sorry, but I don’t fear the government, let alone a 5 foot garbage can.
See reply to above post!!
Yea I noticed that. Agreed.
HI NC,
You took the bait as offered.
This first gen is 100%, specifically designed to be clumsy, slow, limited and just plain childish looking.
Don’t take the bait.
The technology to go from, “weebles wooble”,.. to “weeble will blow your ass away” is already, “off-the-shelf” available.
The public “acceptance” of it initially is the only tactic being deployed here,…. its after people have had just a little time to acclimate to the notion of roving “peace bot”, or “roving assistance bot” or whatever inoffensive name you would care to give it fright now,.. that the next gen is then beta-tested in public, which I gurantee will be a little less “cute” looking,.. and then,.. the rate of change escalates.
This doesn’t mean that these ground drones will be movie style terminators overnight,.. but when you look at the technological leaps being made by DARPA in robotics,… these little, “laugh a them now” glorified child’s toy, will very quickly evolve into effective, albeit problmatic, killing devices much quicker than you may want to admit.
Its all the more reason we need to shut this “Enemy-Force-In-Occupation” down asap. There is a reason they are expending an enourmous amount of effort in trying to develop robotic kill technology as quickly as they can,.. and it is NOT on our interests to let them complete that prize.
JD – US Marines – Its not always what they do now,.. but what they are intending to do that you must also have an ability to understand.
Give us a break, JD…no high tech will match the human brain…maybe in 1 million years, but not tomorrow…Its all fear mongering…propaganda, if you will…Much like the movies, which I think you spend to much time at!!
Arf,
I have a small rubber ball,… that beats your brain.
Please,.. DO NOT EVER TALK, OR ADDRESS ME AGAIN.
Your are offensive, your are intellectually stunted, and have exhibit clear indications of severe limitations that make you unsuitable to exchange any form of meaningful communication with.
Sad,.. but true.
JD
Man, this guy cant take anyone with a different opinion…What a cry baby, so called “want to be” tough guy…and what was your MOS?? cook?? driver??
Your last name Patton or something???
Hey JD, I would have jumped into the fray, but far be it from me to get between a Marine and his target.
Tried to bait him with the meds comment, but no luck.
Totally uncalled for.
I was actually referring to Arf’s very first post, JD about aiming the microwave at it.
Microwaves work great on computers…if drones become everyday…lets all take our ovens outside, lay them on their backs, door open, and hit HIGH…much like the, everyone flushing their toilets at the same time…Create havoc!!!!
There’s something else no one seemed to notice. Full-on Illuminati symbolism, without a doubt. That’s a phallus.
Google a picture of the building in London they call ‘the pickle’. Pretty fair match-up.
These bast@rds are SICK!!!
Eh..Everything they make is a phallus these days. Symbolism or not. It’s a perverted world.
You all give them to much credit…screw their illusions…
Granted, NC…..
…..but they’ve totally discarded any degree of subtlety in the last few years. It’s now a blatant, in-your-face Satanic agenda.
Yep, I know what you mean. Just watch the show, “Revolution”. Hell, watch anything these days. They are totally obvious and out in the open.
Is it getting a little warm in here to you, NC?
Watch and join the ILLUSION!!!! Thats the purpose of the movies…Instill FEAR!!! JD’s got it bad….
wow.
Better get them meds checked.
Something a little stronger maybe.
Oh man, here we go again.
Do you suppose God ever made a six foot man to spit in the face of a five foot robot?Even though that robot be granted second amendment rights revoked from the terrorist citizenry by their own murderous government?At the expense of the terroristic taxpayer?It’s tough to be real without sounding ridiculous.
When robots have all the jobs, I hope they pay them good so they can buy their crap and keep them rich…Dont you see their stupidity???
My guess is arf, your bridge is burned.
I await your insult filled tirade to be fully deserving.
I am just going to stay out of this one. Just gonna lay back and watch what happens 😆
Wow R2-D2 struck a nerve because I’ve never seen so many responses on this web site. On the video did you notice the green rectangles around faces and hands of the people it was spying on? That means Robocop has facial recognition. Why on the hands though? Does it get your finger prints from a distance? That’s crazy if it can. If people don’t accept Robocop then our government will just put similar data gathering devices on lamp posts and at red lights and street corners. Either way…I’m just staying home.
Time to watch “The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)” again…