Sad Security Robot Drowns Itself Outside The Building It Was Supposed to Keep Secure
It might not be the first time when K5 mall security robot made the news. Last summer, the K-5 robot tripped a 16-month-old toddler and drove away. The security patrol robot is a five-foot, 300-pound machine which reportedly hit the toddler on the head and then ran over his leg. Breaking Asimov’s first law of robotics: “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.”, the Knightscope bot might have to work on its people skills. Whereas this time, the K-5 bot seems to have taken the ” be more human” phrase way too seriously. A DC based Knightscope K5 security robot decided to take a dip in a fountain inside the office building it was apparently supposed to keep secure. Though it is unknown as to why the bot chose to drown itself in a fountain inside the office vicinity, two of the bystanders, @bilalfarooqui and @gregpinelo tweeted the following images of the drowning bot.
Our D.C. office building got a security robot. It drowned itself.
We were promised flying cars, instead we got suicidal robots. pic.twitter.com/rGLTAWZMjn — Bilal Farooqui (@bilalfarooqui) July 17, 2017
It’s a fun day here at @gmmb. The super high-tech security robot at our office complex has had a mishap. pic.twitter.com/nhRshrJA9w
— Greg Pinelo (@gregpinelo) July 17, 2017
K5 security robots are designed to patrol areas like office buildings and malls, “gather data with smart eyes and ears,” and “guide themselves” through “complex environments.” The bots are meant to automatically detect “concerns” (definitely failed to detect its own concerns though) and “threats”. The bot’s rocket-like shape and armless design makes it difficult to get up after toppling over, but something tells us that this Knightscope robot wasn’t looking to get back up. The robot’s free fall in the fountain seemed like an act of giving up. So much for free will.
It is 2017 , but, suicidal and toddler knocking robots are all we get for now. Hoping that the future with better robots is here quicker, at least before all our robotics end up in the drink !
