Automated video surveillance on robots

A few days ago in the USA, a man started a fight with a robot. Knightoscope's K5 robot peacefully patrolled the parking lot when the drunk made a mean attack. A helpless car weighing about 140 kilograms fell on its side and could not rise without assistance - it does not have weapons, arms and a suitable program.

The case with K5 is not an isolated one (in Japan there was a similar fighter with cars) and raises many questions regarding the reliability of such systems. We will look at the situation from our bell tower. The robot is clearly not blind, it has cameras that help you move along the route and collect information about the world around us. What is happening in the field of video surveillance on self-propelled vehicles?

Knightoscope k5

Knightscope showed off the K-5 security guard in 2013 and has been conducting test trials ever since. K5 is equipped with a camera system that records video 360 degrees around. A robot similar to R2D2 recognizes faces and vehicle numbers (determines up to 300 numbers per minute), detects the presence of weapons and even understands when people's behavior deviates from the norm. He is able to move around, avoiding collisions, in various areas, overcome minimal obstacles and patrol settlements along sidewalks.

Egg-like robots have passed more than 35,000 hours of testing and 25,000 miles in shopping malls, car parks and production facilities. And yet, there were some incidents with them: except for the incident with the attack of a bully, one of the robots could not avoid a collision with a 16-month-old child - although the robot saw the baby, he did not calculate the consequences of a possible collision.

Cobalt robotics

Cobalt Robotics’s mobile flower vase-like mobile security guard is made in a fabric upholstered case to get as far away from associations with the security combat system as possible. Cpbalt is oriented in space, recognizes people by their faces, reads ID cards and reports any suspicious activity and potential security problems.

In addition to wide-angle cameras for night and day vision, it has 60 sensors, LIDAR and RFID, a microphone, smoke and CO2 detectors. Thanks to this arsenal, the robot can distinguish whether a person should be in the building at the moment or not, it detects open and closed doors and windows (it can even recognize the sound of a broken window), finds a leaking tap, notices a fire, and even draws attention to objects that are not lying in their usual places.

Military robots

Developers from (suddenly) Ireland have created a company offering robotic systems for the disposal of explosive substances and video surveillance. The main advantage compared to competitors is the use of time-tested technologies with a significant (according to the assurance of the developers) reduction in the cost of components.


This small toy-like robot looks very fragile due to its size, but its appearance is deceiving. MAARS combines miniaturization with plenty of firepower. The modular design allows you to equip it with a variety of weapons: from non-lethal lasers (designed to blind enemies) to tear gas and even a grenade launcher.


Not every military robot must have firepower. Intelligence is an important part of military operations and the small Guardbot is just built for covert activities. Originally designed for a hypothetical research mission to Mars, the Guardbot is equipped with cameras and can move on various surfaces (snow, sand and even water are passable for it).


Designed to help the US Marine Corps, the unmanned Gladiator looks like a small tank and can be equipped with various types of weapons (both remote-controlled and manual - soldier right on the battlefield). At a low speed (not more than 20 km / h), the Gladiator has a powerful armored hull.


Do not forget about Samsung combat robots guarding the border of South Korea. The SGR-1 robot is equipped with a radar, a night vision device, and cameras. The robot’s weapons are 5.5 mm machine guns and 40 mm automatic grenade launchers.

Presence and Ohmni for home

All of the above devices can only be afforded by large companies or government institutions, but robotic video surveillance is also in demand for home use. People Power introduced the Presence 360 ​​device, which the developers themselves call the "first-ever robot for a 360-degree surveillance camera".

The Presence 360 ​​is a turret on which a smartphone is installed that you leave at home to control security with the camera. A special application sends you a notification if the camera detects movement.

The robot controls the safety at the programmed points for a predetermined period of time - it supports up to three viewpoints, covering views of (for example) the front door, back door and kitchen window.

The disadvantage of this solution is obvious - the camera does not move around the house. Perhaps you should install it on a web-based platform with wheels?


OhmniLabs showed a mobile Ohmni robot equipped with two video surveillance cameras and a tablet - in fact, this is a version of the telepresence robot adapted for home use and not for video conferencing in the office.

Wildlife watching

Surveillance cameras and photo traps are an important part of research in nature, and in some cases the only way to see a wild animal in its natural habitat. But the cameras have a significant drawback - they do not cause any interest in the four-legged, and you cannot force the animal to pose for the camera. A series of adapted observing robots can solve the problem.

New robots with cameras as similar as possible to those being watched. CCTV camera is hidden in one of the eyes of the robot. Robots reproduce the same movements as animals, have tails and ears that they can move. True, nothing is said about the smell, and after all, with the help of noses, many animals examine strangers.

Delivery robot

Last year, Starship Technologies began testing its autonomous delivery robots in 40 cities and 12 countries. Bots successfully cross the sidewalk, avoid obstacles, go round pedestrians. The average speed is six and a half kilometers per hour, and it can carry up to eleven and a half kilograms of cargo.

The robot has nine surveillance cameras located front and rear. They allow not only to move at a given course, but also protect against people, helping to capture the faces of those who can threaten the robot.

Intellos Sharp

The Sharp robot processes data from cameras and sensors that measure the composition of the surrounding air. A movable support raises one of the cameras to the height of human growth, which gives the robot the ability to peek over obstacles. ASI’s flexible technology platform will make it easy to add new systems to the device in the future.

The robot can monitor around the clock: detect unwanted objects and emergency situations, send reports on its activities, record suspicious events. In this case, the robot can act autonomously or as part of a team. In addition, the robot is equipped with a system of “scaring away” violators - for this it has a siren, flashing lights and the ability to voice alert.

- Most of the new models of “observational” robotics are still being tested in various conditions, but it can already be concluded that robotic, autonomous, mobile video surveillance is the future. Over time, Ivideon will certainly take part in the development of this area. In the meantime, we offer stationary solutions for home and business . However, next week we will finally have active PTZ cameras for the home, and there it’s close to the wheeled platforms.