Microsoft recently let loose an army of robots to patrol its Silicon Valley campus. Designed by California based robotics company Knightscope, the “autonomous data machine” aims to give security guards assistance with patrolling areas while collecting and analyzing data. The 5-foot, 300 pound K5 robots come equipped with Wi-Fi, HD security cameras, alarms, and sensors that can measure movement patterns, weather data, as well as detect odors, and carbon dioxide levels. Despite the serious job description of the K5s, Knightscope says these machines provide a “commanding but friendly presence”. We'll be the judge of that, won't we?

K5s are mostly meant for spotting suspicious activity. When they do, they can use onboard alarms and sirens to diffuse a situation, or, using their Wi-Fi connection, can send out a call for backup. K5 is not (yet) armed with weapons, but will emit an alarm if its sensors detect something amiss, or if someone attempts to tamper with it. Should someone need to receive help, there is also a button near the top for immediately alerting authorities. Initially, K5 needs to be controlled by a human to map its patrol environment, but once it is programmed, a fully charged battery will have it patrolling the streets for 24 hours. When the battery gets low, K5 will autonomously return to a charging station, and within 20 minutes will be fully charged, ready to get back to its patrol. Sure beats 8 hours of sleep, doesn't it?

All of these features add up to a variety of practical security uses for the K5. For example, the cameras and sensors can read a license plate and cross reference the data to determine if the car has been stolen. However, there may be bigger plans for the future of K5s. Knightscope's number one intent is to use these robots to help with the police force, but that means they could soon replace expensive human workers. The company also plans to equip the robots with Tasers in the future, an idea that may sound either disastrous or assuring to you. One day, we could see K5s not just assisting guards, but actually patrolling the streets as part of human police units. Sounds pretty scary to me, and I bet a lot of people. Knightscope, in an attempt to assure us that their machines “aren't abusing their abilities or beginning to learn too much”, plans to make the K5 HD video feeds public so we can “keep an eye on the machines”.