The job of a security guard can be monotonous and also difficult for humans due to physical limitations. Knightscope Inc. is developing a solution to provide greater protection than our average human security guard. The startup company is creating an “Autonomous Data Machine” that collects information of the surrounding area while keeping watch over it.
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The Knightscope K5 and K10 are the two models for which the company has already started securing beta customers. Both models utilize a wide range of high-end sensors such as a 360-degree HD camera, high quality microphone, thermal imaging, infrared, radar, lidar, ultrasonic sensors (to detect speed, distance) and optical character recognition to identify license plates. The robot may even come with face recognition to identify wanted criminals or past offenders of the law. The robot can even detect temperature differences and quality of the surrounding air. Accurate 3D mapping is another feature of the robot which provides useful data that no human could provide instantly.
The data from the sensors can be sent to a centralized system from where the owner or law enforcement personnel could access it. This would allow the police to be prepared before even reaching the scene and the owner can also remain alert of any security threats. The K10 is built for vast open areas such as streets, while the K5 is designed for limited areas. Besides security, the Knightscope robots can be used for various inspections and analyses purposes (such as traffic, road and even factory inspection/analysis).
Knightscope’s creation is sure to revolutionize modern security, but there is still time for it to be commercialized since the company claims to start beta testing by the end of this year. Images have been provided for those of you who weren’t lucky enough to attend this week’s Plug and Play Winter Expo in Sunnyvale, California and see the K5 first-hand.
The new approach to security
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The K5 Beta Prototype
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The Knightscope collects real-time data 
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An Autonomous Data Machine
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Contains a wide variety of high quality sensors
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Different views of the Knightscope
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360-degree high definition camera
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Size compared to an adult human
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The Knightscope has 3D mapping capabilities
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Can be used for a wide variety of applications
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