Thieves ignore robot security guards
Robo security guards do not deter thieves, a team of researchers at Cornell University has found. Using a mObi robot with a non-threatening appearance fitted with a GoPro to record actions of people passing by a table of snack food with a "reserved" sign, 7% of passers-by took food. Without any guard, either human or robot, 8% helped themselves; when a human was present, only 2% picked up a snack. The results suggest that without signs of social engagement, whether eye movement or vocal disapproval, people think the robot can't object or report them.
Robots may not yet have the authority to influence their human masters, according to new research.

The study stationed a cyborg guard beside a table of food marked with a 'reserved' sign in a student common room.

Researchers from New York-based Cornell University used a mObi robot manufactured by Bossa Nova in a simple test.

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In the experiment, a robot guard was stationed over a table of food, though its design was not as menacing as the humanoid pictured, which could explain its lack of authority in preventing people from stealing food (stock image used)

While the robot is not designed to look particularly menacing or authoritative, it has cameras that enable it to 'see' what people around it are doing.

The behaviour of hundreds of students was captured by a hidden GoPro action camera, reports New Scientist.

The results showed that a disappointing seven per cent snaffled reserved food from the table, despite the robot guard's presence.

This was only very slightly lower then the eight per cent who took supplies when the table of food was not guarded at all.

However, when a human guard was stationed at the table, just two per cent of students were brazen enough to swipe a snack.

The RAMSEE security robot features infrared vision, laser radar navigation, known as LIDAR, 360 degree cameras, heat sensing, and toxic gas detection

Many students were captured apparently trying to test out the robot's ability to stop them, with one student reportedly telling their friend to turn the robot round so that they could pinch some food.

The findings were reported at the IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication in New York City last month.

Lead researcher Guy Hoffman is focused on investigating how people act when robots are present in everyday situations.

The research is particularly relevant as robots are increasingly being used in areas such as healthcare and the military, where 'ethical behaviour is a big issue', says Dr Hoffman.

The robots in the experiment had no way of the enforcing the rules, though the results might be different if they had a way of exerting their authority like Robocop

One expert believes that if the robot has no ability to intervene then it has no more sway than the 'reserved' sign in this situation.

'I'd like to see the robot turn its head and look disapprovingly and make some protest noise at people reaching for the snacks,' Sean Welsh, from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand told New Scientist.

In June, a robo-security guard equipped with lasers and infrared cameras was introduced.

RAMSEE can provide round-the-clock monitoring of an area by scanning its environment as it trundles through rooms, looking for motion, along with signs of fire, smoke and gas leaks.

Designed by Gamma 2 Robotics, the robo-snoop sends data when it detects something is amiss to human overseers, who can choose whether or not to intervene.

'We built RAMSEE to be ideally suited for the overnight dull, dirty and dangerous patrols nobody wants to do,' Lew Pincus, CEO of Gamma 2 Robotics told Gisuser.

However, Gamma 2 Robotics believe its main selling point will be cost, as having a robot do patrols is cheaper than having humans do them.