Some US schools are deploying robots that can surveil campuses and confront intruders
Santa Fe NM July 13, 2023
Some US schools are turning to robots to help beef up campus security and potentially confront intruders, The Wall Street Journal reported.
In New Mexico, Santa Fe High School became among the first US schools to test an autonomous robot that uses artificial intelligence to learn the campus’ routes and typical hours of activity, according to the report. The school is running a 60-day pilot program that began in June to test its effectiveness.
School security has become an increasing concern due to mass shootings at campuses, including the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed. Between January and April of this year, there were about 146 mass shootings across the country, surpassing the number of mass shootings in the same period in the past four years, data from Gun Violence Archive showed.
What the solutions exactly are have become a point of political contention. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has called for more armed security at schools while rejecting proposals for tighter gun laws. Last June, the Biden Administration signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which invests millions of dollars into mental health services and school security.
Created by Team 1st Technologies, an Albuquerque-based robotics company, the 400-pound, four-wheeled robot currently roaming Santa Fe High School can provide 360-degree video footage. KRQE reported that the robot has seven cameras and a battery that lasts 20 hours, requiring four hours to charge at a self-charging station.
Andy Sanchez, a manager at Team 1st, told the Journal the robot could alert a security team in cases of an active shooter and move toward the suspect to send a video to authorities.
The robot also can confront intruders, although it is not armed, according to the Journal. It has a speaker system that can allow a remote security team to speak to an intruder.
A spokesperson for Team 1st did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent during the weekend.
Mario Salbidrez, executive director of safety and security at Santa Fe Public Schools, told KRQE that the robot would supplement the existing security system the district has in place.
“As you know, sometimes we’re limited on human resources to be out and they also need breaks and lunches and so forth, so the robots are going to help us supplement the downtime for our regular staff,” Salbidrez told the news station.
At Wyandotte Public Schools district in Oklahoma, Superintendent Brad Wade told the Journal the district plans to deploy four robots from Stokes Robotics, which sells quadruped and wheeled robots.
The school official told the publication that the district is mainly interested in surveillance bots that can watch the entrances of school buildings. Still, it may also consider robots that can confront intruders.
According to the Journal, Stokes Robotics President Robert Stokes said he’s working with multiple school districts to introduce robots in the classroom.
The robots can be used to teach coding, but they can also take more proactive actions, such as pointing a laser beam or flashing a light to distract the intruder, Stokes wrote in an email to Insider.
“When an intruder is detected, the security personal takes control of the robots, takes them out of the classroom, and confronts the intruder,” Stokes said wrote. “The robots provide two-way communication and video feeds for security and law enforcement.”
Stokes added that his company’s robots also have the ability to “district, disorient” and draw the intruder’s attention for several minutes until law enforcement can arrive at the scene.
A video demo from Stokes Robotics shows how a quadruped robot can point the laser beam at an intruder’s chest or bump into the suspect.
