AUSTIN (KXAN) — If you’re walking around parts of Austin, you’ve probably come across a robot watching you.
daxpota three-foot-tall, compact surveillance robot, has been deployed at selected properties to enhance security. CTX Patrol Servicesled by CEO Michael Fallon, partnered with Daxbot to deploy surveillance robots on Austin properties about a year ago.
“They’re a deterrent to harm. People see them, and they’re less likely to do certain things. But they also help,” Fallon said. “It’s not meant to be intimidating. It’s meant to be de-escalatory and just something friendly that will make things go a little more smoothly.”
According to Daxbot security sales executive Mason Reeves, the bots are monitored by employees in their control center.
“They are semi-autonomous, oftentimes doing tasks on their own, but while we monitor them or even manually control them, we have a live video line,” Reeves said. “There’s a grid of nine or 12 screens on one larger screen [at the control center]“Any time the robot detects a person or situation that needs to be looked at, the screen lights up.”
Fallon said there have already been several cases in Austin where the robot has alerted authorities about a safety risk or fire.
“If you’re in a situation and there’s a gun or a firearm or something like that, your first reaction is to get out of there and not stay there, and that’s what I want for you,” Fallon said. “The operator who is watching all of this is thousands of miles away so he can respond and he can also respond in an unemotional and passive way.”
According to Daxbot’s website, the robot can run on gasoline for eight to 10 hours on a charge, and has a cruising speed of 3.7 mph.