I’m just wondering about the internal components on mall cop robots like the Knightscope K5. It must be using a GPU and some pretty nice cameras, right? These are common models found in the United States. I have worked closely with knockoff BD dogs, I’m not talking about those, I’m talking about the Dalek looking things.

  • friend_of_satan@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    My guess is that the most expensive single component would be the lidar. Prices on lidars can be well over $100k. When I worked with lidar about 5 years ago, IIRC a Velodyne 128 was $160k. These robots would probably be using a 32 though, which is probably going to be less than 1/4 of a 128.

    Also, Velodyne and Ouster merged since I last used lidar. Ouster does in-device sensor fusion, which likely takes a significant load off the CPU and potentially GPU, meaning these robots may be able to get away with lower spec CPU and GPU.

    It appears that Ouster now does object detection, which is another reason these could get away with lower spec GPUs (assuming they’re using Ouster)

    Obviously there’s a lot of speculation in my response, but since there’s no teardown of the robot, and without spec sheets or a BOM, all we can do is speculate.

    • CondensedPossum@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 months ago

      Thanks for the actual input, people who haven’t worked around this kind of hardware are mostly limited to goofing around like it’s sci-fi when it’s mostly John Deere style nonsense

  • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    The giant suppositories are usually using nvidia (like everyone else in ai). The cuda/tensor cores are just easier to tap than the AMD equivalent.

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        nope. and you won’t see that anywhere, either. those things are ridiculously expensive (and generally less capable than humans.). IfIxit can’t exactly afford to buy one. (well. they could. probably. but it’s a limited audience.)

        I happen to have some inside knowledge on a particularly laughable suppository, though.

        • Pasta Dental@sh.itjust.works
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          2 months ago

          People throw electric scooters and bikes in lakes and rivers the day they are released in the wild, I’m sure someone would take one and see what’s inside before throwing it in the water

          • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Are you really comparing a device that costs a hundred or two hundred dollars to buy in bulk and is an incredibly annoying nuisance to anyone who has to deal with them being left wherever the fuck the person driving them decides is ‘good enough’… to a robot that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars with decades of R&D behind them…??

            In virtually every implementation, they’re operated inside a security envelope that would help make it extremely difficult to steal. most of the robots have their own security team behind them, including people that will look for it when it is stolen.

            Even if you do manage to lift a several-hundred-pound robot and run away with it; and get it to somewhere it’s onboard telemetry (including GPS, camera and audio. Probably also ultrasonic) can’t broadcast… and then get it someplace safe enough to do the tear down… posting pictures on the internet may as well paint a target on their back. and just for the record, the painters are the kind of people who own companies like blackwater.

            No, they probably won’t send their goons after you. But you did just embarrass them…they ain’t gonna take that lying down.

  • EleventhHour@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s vulnerable to a short-range EMP burst. Just make sure to leave your phone and smartwatch at home.

    Local municipalities only have so much in their budgets for this crap, and these things are very expensive. If enough of them fail/are destroyed/go missing forever… well, the local budget won’t be able to keep replacing them indefinitely…

    • CondensedPossum@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 months ago

      There aren’t short-range EMP burst emitters, that’s sci-fi pretend. These are real robot flashlight caddies they deploy at outdoor malls in Ohio.

    • umbrella@lemmy.ml
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      2 months ago

      they are probably vulnerable to being stolen and stripped for parts.

      probably some expensive shit in there.

      • jacksilver@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Just need to throw some foil on it and you’ve got a very expensive new buddy.