It’s an egg! It’s a Roomba! No, it’s Rosie the robot!
Technology company Knightscope has deployed its new robotic protector units to several spots around New York on a trial basis. Nicknamed “Rosie,” these egg-shaped gizmos patrol their designated areas with pathfinding tech similar to the kind used in self-driving cars. Rosie is armed with a series of cameras, noise detectors, and thermal sensors, with every image it picks up beamed through wi-fi to a camera bank. When Rosie picks up something suspicious, the police are immediately notified. The data picked up is secured and encoded so only the security agency that owns Rosie can see it. Rosie also cannot be directly controlled in order to prevent it from following specific people.
Knightscope CEO William Santana Li has said that, as someone present during 9/11, he is very conscious about New York’s security, and wants to do whatever he can to both improve it and aid local law enforcement. Rosie is currently deployed at Lefrak City Apartments in Queens and LaGuardia Airport, as well as several other trial runs around the country.
