Security is really about trust, and less about cost -- though obviously everyone tries to minimize costs. That's only natural. Security guards have traditionally been paid little, typically at or just above minimum wage, so a robotic replacement is not a given win. A robot won't steal from a warehouse, casino, or parking lot (though that would make for a great Brad Pitt movie!), but their effectiveness as a security measure is not known, because they are largely unproven in the task.
The same research and development costs might have been applied to something else with a known market and true need. Wheeled mobility devices are still grossly ineffective for millions of their users. A robotic wheelchair, especially one with the ability to help a person rise to his or her feet, is the type of project the industry should be focusing on, not some hype to help solve a problem that doesn't exist.
Sentry bots are actually relatively simple to do, so that's why a new one comes out every year or so. They just borrow the same cameras and sensors everyone else can buy, and put them on a wheeled platform. One of the proposed uses for the robot beside me in my avatar pic -- the Gemini -- was as a patrol bot. This is from the early 80s. True, electronics and batteries have improved to make a security robot more of a possibility, but you'd think we'd be dreaming up better uses for these by now.
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The same research and development costs might have been applied to something else with a known market and true need. Wheeled mobility devices are still grossly ineffective for millions of their users. A robotic wheelchair, especially one with the ability to help a person rise to his or her feet, is the type of project the industry should be focusing on, not some hype to help solve a problem that doesn't exist.
Sentry bots are actually relatively simple to do, so that's why a new one comes out every year or so. They just borrow the same cameras and sensors everyone else can buy, and put them on a wheeled platform. One of the proposed uses for the robot beside me in my avatar pic -- the Gemini -- was as a patrol bot. This is from the early 80s. True, electronics and batteries have improved to make a security robot more of a possibility, but you'd think we'd be dreaming up better uses for these by now.
I want one of these so bad. I even bought a smart phone to operate one.
http://techject.com/robot-dragonfly/