XPost: sac.politics, sci.electronics.design, alt.survival

Hate your job? Craving a vacation? Turns out you're in some
surprising company.

On Monday, a robot that was ‘hired’ to patrol a Washington, DC
office building made quite the splash when it rolled into a
fountain and took a dip.

In doing so, the robot, a Knightscope K5, ended its life,
according to the Verge. The Knightscope K5 is used by the
security industry to patrol locations that see foot traffic,
such as malls and office parks. It stands about five feet tall
and weighs roughly 300 lbs. Its rocket-like shape and lack of
arms make it difficult for the robot to get up after it topples
over, according to the Verge.

Despite these shortcomings, the Knightscope K5 is said to be
packed with sophisticated technology. The BBC reported that the
robot incorporates high-tech features, including face-
recognition software, high definition video capture and infrared
and ultrasonic sensors.

Bilal Farooqui @bilalfarooqui
Our D.C. office building got a security robot. It drowned itself.

We were promised flying cars, instead we got suicidal robots.
12:05 PM - 17 Jul 2017
124,532 124,532 Retweets 273,495 273,495 likes

In the aftermath of its plunge, onlookers took to social media
to share the robot’s demise with cyberspace.

Peter W. Singer @peterwsinger
Steps are our best defense against the Robopocalypse

(Security robot down at Georgetown harbor)
12:45 PM - 17 Jul 2017
185 185 Retweets 293 293 likes

“Our D.C. office building got a security robot. It drowned
itself. We were promised flying cars, instead we got suicidal
robots,” tweeted spectator Bilal Farooqui.

Another onlooker, Peter W. Singer, mused in a tweet "Steps are
our best defense against the Robopocalypse (Security robot down
at Georgetown harbor)”

Meanwhile, Knightscope blamed the sweltering July temps and
added a dash of humor to the story, letting the robot speak for
itself. "I heard humans can take a dip in the water in this
heat, but robots cannot. I am sorry," said K5 in an 'official
statement' statement tweeted by Knightscope.

K5 has made headlines in the past for its involvement in bizarre
incidents. This past spring, a man was busted after he attacked
the robot in an attempt to "test" it.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/07/18/robosuicide-security- robot-drowns-after-plunging-into-fountain.html

Comments:

jetsfan2015 38 minutes ago
'HAL, get out of the fountain.'

'I'm afraid I can't do that Dave...glub'




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Avatar for 1roughone
1roughone 43 minutes ago
At least the robot was actually working and not watching TV and
smoking weed for 8 hours.

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Avatar for jetsfan2015
jetsfan2015 43 minutes ago
so Johnny-5 ain't so alive anymore...

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Avatar for Tiredofchange8
Tiredofchange8 45 minutes ago
Just another minimum wage protest I guess!

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Avatar for crimeman
crimeman 48 minutes ago
must be a dum-O-rat!

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Avatar for iluhkc
iluhkc 52 minutes ago
The robot is going to sue the building's owners.

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Avatar for DissatisfiedCustomer
DissatisfiedCustomer 1 hour ago
A.I. Artificial Ignorance

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Avatar for AzCoronaDog
AzCoronaDog 1 hour ago
They need to get some help from iRobot - my cheap little Roomba
never falls down the stairs!

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Avatar for davidmulligan
davidmulligan 1 hour ago
They just did not program the Robot to not go off a cliff or
down stairs. A problem easily fixed.

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Avatar for MikeOswald
MikeOswald 1 hour ago
How much do you want to bet that Robot voted for Hillary?

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Avatar for DisappointedDude
DisappointedDude 1 hour ago
Just great. Next time the Great Robot Council meets, they're
going to blame humanity for killing the Knightscope K5. Then the
robots are going to come kick our collective as*es.

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Avatar for Ekras
Ekras 1 hour ago
Just doing it's part to drain the swamp....

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Avatar for seankerr456
seankerr456 1 hour ago
@Ekras by going into a fountain? Nice try on that one....

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Avatar for GuntertheGerman
GuntertheGerman 1 hour ago
The robot is only as smart as the person who created it. We are
still safe from Artificial Intelligence as Elon Musk is warning
us about.

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Avatar for Ekras
Ekras 1 hour ago
@GuntertheGerman Or are we?

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Avatar for BattleBornInNevada
BattleBornInNevada 1 hour ago
All that high-tech gear and nobody taught it to swim!

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Avatar for truthwinz
truthwinz 1 hour ago
Must have been looking at his cell phone.

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