Emergence of Robotics

Robotics in the Bay Area is catching on, even challenging and surpassing Japan in some respects. For instance Megabots Inc., an Oakland, California-based startup, has built a 15-foot mechanical gladiator called the Mark II and challenged a Japanese firm to an international battle for robot supremacy in late 2015.

Tokyo-based Suidobashi Heavy Industries, maker of the 13-foot Kuratas, accepted the challenge, setting the stage for the first giant robot battle of its kind this year. 

If you have yet to see a robot patrolling a parking lot or moving along the sidewalk, don’t feel left out. Security, surveillance, hospitality, and delivery robots aren’t a common sight, but it won’t be long before they are. Robots are already on the job providing extra service and security in a growing variety and number of locations, according to the MIT Technology Review.

Silicon Valley startup Knightscope, Inc. has two mobile surveillance and security robots, called the K3 and K5. The company refers to them as Autonomous Data Machines, or ADMs, because as the robots make their rounds, they can either follow prescribed paths or just wander within a determined area. While on the move, the robots continuously collect and transmit more than 90 terabytes of data per year.

Knightscope maintains a security center to monitor and receive alerts and status reports from the robots and, over time, a growing database of information collected by sensors will help the robots differentiate between normal activity and security issues. The robots are physically imposing, especially the K5 model, which is 5 feet tall, 3 feet wide, and tips the scale at 300 pounds. Courtesy of Bruce Brown and Digitaltrends.

Other trends in robotics include smart homes that learn about your needs, preferences and make adjustments, monitor and feed pets, send streaming video when someone's at your door, sensors that look at your pipes and AC to ensure proper function plus much more.