US schools deploy robots as security

Alex Omenye

Some schools in the US have started deploying robots to secure the campus against intruders.

The Santa Fe High School in New Mexico is one of the first US schools to test an autonomous robot that employs artificial intelligence to learn the routes around the campus and the regular hours of activity, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In order to evaluate its efficacy, the school is implementing a 60-day trial program that started in June.

Mass shootings on campuses, such as the one at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 students and two teachers dead, have raised concerns about school security. According to data from Gun Violence Archive, there were more mass shootings between January and April of this year—roughly 146—than there were during the same time during the previous four years.

Brad Wade, the superintendent of Wyandotte Public Schools in Oklahoma, told the Journal that the district intends to use four robots from Stokes Robotics, which sells quadruped and wheeled robots.

According to the school representative, the district is primarily interested in surveillance bots that can keep an eye on school building entrances. However, it might also take into account robots that can fight off intruders.

Robert Stokes, president of Stokes Robotics, reportedly told the Journal that he is collaborating with many school districts to implement robots in the classroom.