By Renato Cudicio, MBA, President of Glocal Robotics Europe
Security robots perform tasks that guards no longer want to do, don’t know how to do or shouldn’t do.
Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and the growing precision of on-board sensors, security robots like THALAMUS have gained in autonomy. As a result, they are now able to take on surveillance, prevention and deterrence activities which, until now, have been the preserve of agents.
However, the private security industry in all G20 countries is facing a serious shortage of personnel to carry out these missions. And there’s a very good explanation for this.
Agents no longer want to do certain tasks.
Surveillance work, especially at night, is often thankless and repetitive. Schedules are difficult, and opportunities to use initiative and common sense are rare. As a result, recruitment is difficult, positions remain unfilled and not all rounds are covered as they should be. The security of certain sites is at risk.
Agents can’t do certain tasks.
Today, no one doubts the ability of radar and smart cameras to detect attempted intrusions into protected areas, day and night. Sensors can see very far, in the dark and in fog, without making a sound, and with a reliability that humans cannot match. An autonomous robot constantly analyzes its environment at 360 degrees and multiplies surveillance rounds without losing attention. It can remain motionless for hours, lurking in a corner to observe a sensitive area, just as it can remotely gather information on the integrity of fences. No agent can beat it in this field.
Agents should no longer perform certain tasks.
Rightly so, the health and safety of the agents themselves has become a top priority for companies. Outdoor patrols, in extreme heat or cold, or when confronted with downpours or windstorms, are no picnic for agents, but they have no impact on a robot. Secondly, beyond the vagaries of the weather, these rounds increase the risk of direct confrontation with intruders who, as we see every day, are increasingly armed and violent. The robot may be sent to the front. At worst, it will die for the cause, but it will have fulfilled its mission of raising the alarm and filming the incident, without endangering any agent.
Ready to go in our Angoulême workshop, THALAMUS robots offer solutions to these challenges facing the private security industry, by accompanying agents in the field to take on some of the surveillance missions they no longer want, can or should perform.