Hyundai’s New Security Guard Doesn’t Have A Soul
The future is here and it’s rife with Terminator references. If you’ve spent any time at all on the internet, you’re probably familiar with Boston Dynamics various dog robots, the smallest of which is Spot. Hyundai recently took a controlling interest in Boston Dynamics, and was keen to integrate their tech with Hyundai’s factories. The first of which is a Kia plant in Korea. Spot, packed with an arsenal of sensors and set along preset paths will maintain late-night security patrols before slowly expanding its domains.
“The Factory Safety Service Robot is the first collaboration project with Boston Dynamics. The Robot will help detect risks and secure people’s safety in industrial sites,” said Dong Jin Hyun, Head of Hyundai Motor Group Robotics Lab. “We will also continue to create smart services that detect dangers at industrial sites and help support a safe work environment through continuous collaborations with Boston Dynamics.”
With an integrated thermal camera and 3D LiDAR, the Robot is able to detect people around it, monitor high-temperature situations and potential fire hazards, and perceive whether a door is open or closed. I wonder if it logs peoples positions when it ID’s them. Having a constellation of faces, places, and times would be incredibly dystopian, but also perfect for providing alibis and evidence.
The Robot can be remote-controlled through a secure webpage that provides a livestream of its movements around the plant, enabling office personnel to remotely observe industrial areas. Making Spot accessible through a webpage means that operators could potentially check in on Spot on Mobile while on the move, rather than being tied down to a workstation with proprietary tech (which would probably be a bit more secure to be honest. Imagine an outside third party gaining control of Spot and driving it into a crusher or something). Indeed it is confirmed that Managers can switch to manual teleoperation whenever needed to conduct a closer look at important industrial sites.
The Robot provides real-time sharing of photos of on-site situations and an activity log with the control centre, as well as support a rapid response in the event of an emergency by sounding an alarm on the control webpage.
The Group has applied several of its own technologies to the Robot, including AI for detecting people, thermal camera for detecting high-temperature risks, LiDAR for recognising door openings, and navigation technology that allows it to move autonomously along designated areas within industrial sites.
The future is here, and it’s taking our jobs. No longer will humans have the great opportunity to “move autonomously along designated areas within industrial sites”, and I for one welcome it. Unless of course my job here at M2 falls through.