While the field of robotics may not have advanced quite enough yet to field a team of robotic footballers (anyone remember Atari’s coin-op Cyberball arcade game?), it has managed to produce security guards used at the World Cup soccer event in Germany.
According to an article and photo over at the Pakistan Daily Times, more than a dozen tracked robotic sentries have been prowling parking garages and the surrounding environs of the event looking for anything out of the ordinary. Developed by Berlin-based Robowatch, these robotic sentries have a great deal in common with other robots serving tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. From the article:
The outdoor robot OFRO, which starts at $76,000 and resembles a Mars rover on treads, uses thermal cameras at night to spot intruders from their body heat. Similar to ones used by the US military as scouts in Iraq, the OFRO is capable of far more — with sensors equipped to detect radiation, toxins, viruses and chemical warfare agents.
Check out the full article or visit the Robowatch site for more information. (Source: Pakistan Daily Times) – [Jeff James]
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