'Dalek' security guards go on patrol in Silicon Valley

An intruder could be forgiven for imagining he was about to be ‘exterminated’ when he comes face to face with Silicon Valley’s first robot security guard - which bears an alarming resemblance to a Dalek.

The Knightscope security guards bristle with sensors including infrared imagers and odour detectors, and are already being trialled at Microsoft’s San Francisco offices.

The five-foot-tall robots are not armed - thankfully.

Instead, they spot suspicious behaviour, are able to deliver spoken warnings, and alert controllers with a live video feed.

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They patrol on pre-programmed paths, and steer using a combination of GPS, surveillance camera images and LIDAR - laser-radar - which is also used in Google’s self-driving cars.

LIDAR is used to allow autonomous vehicles to build a very complex image of the environment they are in, so they can spot anomalies (such as a thief, or a broken window), quickly.

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They also have hi-tech ‘extras’ such as being able to rapidly monitor and record car number plates at a rate of up to 300 per minute.

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The inventors believe that the ‘friendly’ face of Knightscope - rather than armed police officers or security guards - will allow owners of business premises to keep a close watch, without frightening the public.

They say, 'Imagine a friend that can see, hear, feel and smell that would tirelessly watch over your corporate campus or neighborhood, keep your loved ones safe and put a smile on everyone passing by.’