Associated Incidents
A security robot called Steve did not commit suicide by falling into a fountain in Washington DC, but due to a tragic accident.
After retrieving data from Steve the roboguard’s black box discovered that the accident was caused not by suicide but by skidding on a “loose brick surface”, according to the machine’s manufacturer, Knightscope.
A technical error led to the K5 robot’s demise when an algorithm did not detect the uneven surface, leading to Steve tumbling into the fountain and drowning.
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A replacement machine was sent to the office complex within 48 hours. Washington Harbour also received a month’s credit as well as an all-inclusive service policy include maintenance costs, according to Reuters.
The manufacturer of the security robot downplayed the incident, saying it was an “isolated” incident which would lead to improvements. “Developing state-of-the-art autonomous technology must be done in real-world environments,” said the Silicon Valley-based maker.
“It is not commercially reasonable to be developed in constrained laboratory settings.”
According to the company, the K5 Autonomous Data Machine which is about five feet tall, was on a mission to map out the grounds of the complex when it tumbled down some stairs and toppled into the fountain.
The incident went viral on Twitter after an employee at the Washington Harbour complex, Bilal Farooqui posted a picture of the robot with news of Steve’s ill-fated dip in the fountain. “We were promised flying cars, instead we got suicidal robots,” he wrote.
Photos of the submerged robot were shared, showing bemused staff wading into the water. A woman in a black dress looks on pensively.
Other tweets suggested that the robot had quit its job and it was a “win” for humans.
The K5 has a 360-degree video camera, several microphones, air quality sensors and has thermal imaging capabilities. The Dalek-like machine can scan up to 1,500 number plates per second, while the microphones can detect gun shots, according to Ars Technica.
Shape Created with Sketch. Meet the robots - the strange creations of Boston Dynamics Show all 6 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Meet the robots - the strange creations of Boston Dynamics 1/6 The LS3 is a four-legged, intelligent robot with an array of cameras and sensors that allow it, for example, to follow a leader of all kinds of terrain Boston Dynamics via YouTube 2/6 The eeriest of all the Boston Dynamics robots, the PetMan could - among other things - test chemical suits Boston Dynamics via YouTube 3/6 PetMan's big brother, Atlas may be used as a first response to disaster situations Reuters 4/6 RHex has been developed to cross the trickiest terrain and can be controlled from 700 metres away Boston Dynamics via YouTube 5/6 Built for speed, Cheetah can run at 28.3mph - and can prove it on the treadmill Boston Dynamics via YouTube 6/6 The remote-control car with a difference - it can jump 30ft in the air (wouldn't you want one for Christmas?) Boston Dynamics via YouTube 1/6 The LS3 is a four-legged, intelligent robot with an array of cameras and sensors that allow it, for example, to follow a leader of all kinds of terrain Boston Dynamics via YouTube 2/6 The eeriest of all the Boston Dynamics robots, the PetMan could - among other things - test chemical suits Boston Dynamics via YouTube 3/6 PetMan's big brother, Atlas may be used as a first response to disaster situations Reuters 4/6 RHex has been developed to cross the trickiest terrain and can be controlled from 700 metres away Boston Dynamics via YouTube 5/6 Built for speed, Cheetah can run at 28.3mph - and can prove it on the treadmill Boston Dynamics via YouTube 6/6 The remote-control car with a difference - it can jump 30ft in the air (wouldn't you want one for Christmas?) Boston Dynamics via YouTube
In 2016, the K5 was involved in an accident when it ran over a 16-month-old child at the Stanford Shopping Centre, leaving him bruised and shaken. "The robot hit my son's head and he fell face down on the floor. The robot did not stop, it kept moving forward," Tiffany Cheng, the toddler's mother, to ABC 7. "He was crying like crazy."
Ironically, Knightscope said that Steve was being repaired and is “tentatively scheduled to patrol of all places, a major aquarium.”