Security Robot Cuts Crime for XPO
There’s a new sheriff in town. It weighs 400 pounds and goes only 3 mph. But it seems to get the job done. And it doesn’t need a lightsaber.
A security robot that XPO Logistics deployed at its Atlanta logistics facility has reduced incidents in the parking lot and the building’s exterior to zero in the first six months it has been monitoring the area.
Not only has the robot, nicknamed C3-XPO, eliminated problems around the lot, it has saved XPO more than $125,000 in traditional security expenses, the company reported. XPO decided to test the robot because it would provide a physical presence and the capability to interpret data in real time.
C3-XPO, which bears a resemblance to one of the characters in the original “Star Wars” movie, is powered with lithium-ion batteries. It features 360-degree, high-definition, low-light cameras and two terabytes of storage to record and retrieve events. It operates and charges itself independently.
The weather-proof robot is manufactured by Mountain View, Calif.-based Knightscope Inc., a security technology company that claims its robots “deter, detect and report … autonomously.”
C3-XPO is Knightscope’s K5 model that is designed for large outdoor spaces such as parking lots and corporate campuses. It measures 5 feet tall, 3 feet wide and carries its 400 pounds at a top speed of 3 mph.
It deters potential criminals with visual and audible alarms, and its thermal-imaging sensors can detect loitering cars or fires outside the building. The robot can read up to 300 license plates a minute, and its people-detection technology sees potential threats from the likes of disgruntled employees, according to Knightscope.
Anyone attempting to damage a K5 will be detected by proximity sensors that will set off a variety of alarms.
