What if Nebraska’s state penitentiary started using robots as guards? I’m not joking. We’ve had issues with keeping staff, overtime and all of that. And it’s already being done in Georgia.
The Cobb County Sheriff’s Department is doing a 90 day trial of using robots for security at an adult detention center. The robots are called DEKA Sentry Robots. They look like if a Dalek from Doctor Who had babies with an ATM. They’re around 6 feet tall, have heat detection, night vision, and 360 degree cameras. So, they’re mainly watchdogs.
I watched a demonstration. They’re slow and it took me all of 30 seconds to figure out to topple one and get away. I mean, if there were some lasers and maybe a circular saw blade like R2D2, I’d be more impressed. But after watching the video, I’d feel safer with a knife taped to a self-propelled vacuum.