So, you have signed up with Knightscope and your K1, K3 and K5 Autonomous Security Robots (ASRs) have been configured and deployed. Your Knightscope Security Operations Center (KSOC) web-based software has been set up and you and your team have gone through a virtual training session with Knightscope’s Client Experience (CX) team. You have collaborated with Knightscope’s CX team and designated your Patrol Schedule. You have determined your alert thresholds – people detections by time and location, license plate BOLOs (be-on-the-lookout), Automatic Signal Detection (ASD) BOLOs, facial recognition BOLOs, parking meter violations, and thermal anomalies. You have signed off on your pre-recorded broadcast messages that are to be audibly announced using the ASR’s voice as well as your periodic messaging selection by time increments. And you have selected the land line or cell phone number to receive calls from anyone pressing the intercom button. Now what?
Now it is time to prepare for the greatest impact and benefits possible from your Knightscope deployment. It is time to get your ASRs & KSOC fully incorporated into your Post Orders. Whether you have a Security Operations Center (SOC) or Command Center, or you just have one member of the security team working per shift in addition to your 24/7 ASR’s, your robots can be leveraged to provide real-time support in your security team’s day to day operations. Here are some of our suggestions on how other clients have layered ASRs into their Post Orders.
As your mobile ASRs patrol and/or your K1 monitors, they detect people in a place or at a time in which you designated that an escalated alert for human detection be provided. Maybe it is in an area of the site that is closed during certain hours of the day or during a time and in a location where you have seen an increase in criminal behavior. When a person is detected under these conditions, an alert is sent to the team through the KSOC user interface, an email is sent to the SOC/Command Center team or a Security Receptionist, and/or the patrol officer receives a text notification. All of this is in place to ensure the appropriate personnel get the most relevant, real time alerts possible and can take the necessary action(s).
The SOC/Command Center Operator or Security Receptionist jumps into the KSOC and instantly begins to stream live video and turns on the 360-degree view, then they switch on the live audio. The SOC/Command Center Operator sees the suspicious individual and pauses the ASR patrol, which stops the robot. They click on a Pre-Recorded Broadcast Message that says, “Hello, I’m a security robot, you are being recorded for your safety.” The individual does not leave the area. The operator then initiates an intercom call and speaks directly to the individual “This is Jeff from the security team, this site is currently closed, please leave the area or we will notify the authorities.” The individual leaves.
Whether it is a license plate belonging to a vehicle that was believed to be part of a past break in (with a plate number previously captured by the KSOC and flagged by a user), or an employee parked in visitor parking, the KSOC can provide this real time alert via email, text, KSOC or phone call. Your KSOC users can see where on the map this blacklisted license plate was detected and immediately contact local law enforcement. The KSOC alert will provide a video clip so the user can potentially see someone getting in or out of the vehicle. They are alerted to exactly where the vehicle was detected and at what time with an image in which they may zoom.
Parking Violations can range from cars being parked for more than twenty-four (24) hours in a non-twenty-four (24) hour parking lot to a vehicle parked for five (5) hours in a four (4) hour electric vehicle charge station parking space. Once the violation is received in the KSOC or via email or text, the security team can send a team member to slide a courtesy notice under the windshield wiper or an email can be sent directly to the employee if there is an employee license plate database. The security team will immediately have access to the violating vehicle location, the time the violation was detected, the type of violation, a zoom-ready image, and video clips providing for 360-degree coverage. All of this can be used as evidence in instances of towing or ticketing of vehicles in violation.
Thermal anomaly alerts can be an overheating pipe on the brink of exploding to a vehicle accidentally left running causing a carbon monoxide hazard to a breaker box on the verge of catching fire. The KSOC account will already have had thermal temperature thresholds defined by temperature and time of day. The elevated temperature alert will be sent via email, text or KSOC alert notification. The KSOC user(s) will know exactly where and when the thermal hazard was detected. They will also have 360-degree recorded video of the thermal hazard detection and an image with a zooming feature. The KSOC user(s) will have the approximate temperature recorded as well and can notify the fire department if a true threat exists.
ASD alerts can range from a cell phone belonging to individuals previously believed to have committed crime to a bomb detonation device accessing Wi-Fi to a rogue router placed in the trunk of a vehicle by a hacker to be used for cyber-intrusion. The KSOC will provide email, text or in-the-app KSOC notifications. The ASD alert has the capacity for providing a photo of the individual along with reasoning for the blacklisting. The ASD alert will contain the time of the alert, the dwell time of the device, a list of detections over the past two (2) weeks for that device and how far away from the robot the device was when detected. The KSOC user(s) can then notify authorities or attempt to locate the device or deter the individual from committing another crime.
The KSOC user(s) could be tasked with routine streaming live video analysis to search for anything suspicious. In the event a user detects a suspicious vehicle, the robot can be stopped, the KSOC can then broadcast a message loudly (they can adjust volume) to that individual that they are being recorded. The fact that the robot is stopped and is speaking to them directly demonstrates that this machine is far beyond just a camera system on the move. Persons of Interest or suspicious individuals quickly recognize that this Robot is capturing a lot more about them than meets the eye. KSOC users can also trigger the local Alarm on the Robot itself, as well as broadcast messages using their own voice via an initiated intercom call or they can type custom messages that are broadcasted using the Robot’s voice as needed.
Should the security team detect a crime in progress, they can trigger the local Alarm on the robot. They can contact Law Enforcement or threaten with their own voice or with robot’s voice that authorities are being notified. They can also stop the robot and increase the volume of the Patrol Sound, the Intercom or of Broadcast to help intervene. The security team can emphasize to the individual that they are being recorded and the video of them can be used as evidence in prosecution. The video can also be turned over to Law Enforcement and/or the Knightscope Custom Experience (CX) team can provide video forensic investigation support.
The KSOC can provide for real time alerts for threats of Workplace Violence. It can be the license plate belonging to someone who had been terminated and had a hostile exit interview. The KSOC can provide an alert for a cell phone detected or a facial recognition match that belongs to that individual with time and where that individual might be located. Local Law Enforcement or any on-site Executive Protection Agents can then be alerted.
If Facial Recognition is elected to be activated as a part of the deployment, Knightscope’s third-party facial recognition software provider can then be included for any K1 and as a part of the overall security team’s KSOC account. Current Employee, Former Employee or Person of Interest (POI) images can be uploaded into the KSOC with a reason for this individual being flagged. The robots and the software will then scan for that threatening individual indefinitely. The security team can receive real time text, email or KSOC alerts of a threatening individual. Local Authorities and/or Executive Protection teams can be notified, the local Alarm can be triggered and/or a message alerting everyone in the immediate area (with a description of the individual) that there is a potentially threatening individual in the area.
Now that you’ve learned “How to Integrate Autonomous Security Robots into Your Post Orders,” let’s set up a meeting, so we can begin addressing any issues you may be facing today.
