Microsoft Employs Robot Security Guards!

I hope you guys liked our previous post and ordered a LIX 3-D Pen. Now, this post, as you know from the title, is about this amazing security robot K5 and its insights that is created by Knightscope and employed at Microsoft.

Visitors to Microsoft's Silicon Valley campus had a close encounter with security guards earlier this month. But they weren't human security guards.

In fact, if you passed one in the parking lot, you might have mistaken it for some sort of mini spaceship, or perhaps something from the Doctor Who universe. But these 300-pound, 5-foot-tall structures are meant to help you stay safe, and keep the baddies away.

The robot security guards, which go by the name K5, made an appearance on Microsoft's campus for a Nov. 5 event called "Rise of the Robots." Instead of a human beating heart, these things are powered by a computer running artificial intelligence software that can monitor and make decisions about what's going on, and take action when necessary, according to a report from ExtremeTech.

K5 robots also boast an array of cameras, sensors, and alarms to help them do their job. Fortunately, for the safety of human civilization, they aren't equipped with firearms or any other weapons.

Built by California company Knightscope, the K5 is described as a "autonomous data machine" with a "commanding but friendly physical presence," ET notes. On the inside, the K5 machines have four HD cameras facing in each direction, meaning they literally have eyes on the back of their heads.

There's also a separate camera that can read your car's license plate, four microphones, alarms, sirens, weather sensors, and GPS to help K5 find its way around. In the event of a security breach, the robots can contact their human counterparts back at headquarters thanks to a built-in Wi-Fi connection.

"If you step in front of the K5, or otherwise interfere with it, it will gently warn you with some chimes — but if you don't move, an 'ear-piercing alarm' is triggered," the report notes.

Unless, of course, you need help. If you find yourself in harm's way, you can press a button at the top of the K5, and it will summon help from headquarters.

Plus, unlike humans, which need like 8 hours of sleep a night, the K5 can run for 24 hours on a single charge and only takes 15 to 20 minutes to re-up. They're also self-sufficient, with the ability to navigate themselves back to the charging station when they're running low.