We've been hearing for years about the push-back from taxi and limo drivers angry at Uber for using technology to disrupt their jobs. Now, according to a Fusion report, Uber may be adding security guards to the list. The ride-sharing company's inspection lot in Mission Bay will now be patrolled by robot drones instead of human guards.
The drones in question are pretty darn cute, we have to admit. Created by Silicon Valley start-up Knightscope, the K5 rolling security bots are armed with high-def cameras, sophisticated sensors and lasers—because obviously it needs lasers. They can tool around the lot 24 hours a day scanning for anything unusual and recording everything they observe. Should an incident occur, the robot can sound an alarm or notify personnel.
Knightscope rents the robots to clients who pay seven dollars an hour to operate them. That compares to the $25 to $35 hourly wages which the company says a typical San Francisco security guard pulls down. While K5s are currently only on robo-patrol at a few locations around the Bay Area, one can certainly imagine a future where there a lot less of those decent-paying guard jobs available. On the other hand, drones might help keep human workers safer since people won’t be on the front lines of dangerous late-night patrols.
Want to stage a selfie with the Dalek-like device but no plans to start driving for Uber? Knightscope has also rolled out their technology at Stanford Shopping Center, where the #SecurityRobot is already becoming an Instagram trend.