November 5, Microsoft have installed a group of robot security guards which are 5-feet-tall, 300-pound robots to protect its Silicon Valley campus on an event called "Rise of the Robots". The robots are called "K5", which is described as "autonomous data machine" with a "commanding but friendly physical presence," according to ET's notes, and was built by a company in Californie namely Knightscope.
K5 machines have four HD cameras facing in each direction, meaning they literally have eyes on the back of their heads. It is packed with HD security cameras and sensors to take in their organic, protein-based surroundings. There's also an artificial intelligence on board that can sound alarms when the robot notices something off-center. Plus, it can read license plates and cross-reference them to see if they're stolen.
Extreme Tech noted that these security guard robots 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.
Unlike human, the K5 doesn't need 8 hours of sleep at night, instead it 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.
These security guards are built with camera, four microphones, alarms, sirens, weather sensors, and GPS to help K5 find its way around. What's more interesting is that K5 machines are not alone, because 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," stated in a report.
So, whenever visitors come to Microsoft Silicon Valley campus, will have a close encounter with these unique security guards earlier this month. In fact, if you passed one in the parking lot, you might have mistaken it for some sort of mini spaceship.
