Cool!

https://nypost.com/2017/12/14/...le-in-san-francisco/

A robot security guard is terrifying homeless people in San Francisco
By Chris Ciaccia December 14, 2017 | 12:05pm |


The San Francisco SPCA, a non-profit whose mission is “to save and protect animals … and enhance the human-animal bond,” is reportedly doing just the opposite with its latest robot security guard.

It is terrifying homeless people that hang out near the SPCA building in the Mission section of the city, which was part of its objective, but it is freaking out residents as well.

According to San Francisco Business Times, the robot ─ dubbed K9 ─ was put into place to try and deal with the number of needles, car break-ins and other crimes that have reportedly come from a nearby encampment of homeless people.

“We weren’t able to use the sidewalks at all when there’s needles and tents and bikes, so from a walking standpoint I find the robot much easier to navigate than an encampment,” Jennifer Scarlett, the SPCA’s president, said in an interview with the San Francisco Business Times.

After the SPCA implemented the robot, Scarlett said homeless encampments disappeared and fewer cars were broken into. She added that it was not clear whether the robot was the cause of the decrease in crime, but that there was a correlation.

Upon seeing the robot, some of the people in the encampment expressed their annoyance, putting barbecue sauce on its sensors, knocking it over and putting a tarp on it, Scarlett said.

The people in the homeless encampment were not the only ones who were freaked out by the robot.

San Francisco resident Fran Taylor, who lives near the SPCA location, said the robot approached her and her dog while she was out for a walk. The dog began barking and attempted to go near it, while she yelled at it to stop. The robot eventually stopped 10 feet away from her.

Taylor wound up writing a letter to the SPCA, expressing her displeasure after her run-in with the robot. The SPCA responded saying it had security concerns and that the robot was part of its solution.

Last week, the city of San Francisco ordered the SPCA to keep its robot off the sidewalks or it would face a $1,000-a-day penalty for operating it in the public right-of-way without a permit.

This is not the first run-in citizens around the country have had with robot security guards.

In January, a Knightscope robot was seen patrolling the streets of New York City and attracted the attention of curious onlookers.

In April, a man in Mountain View, California, attacked a 300-pound security K5 robot made by Knightscope on the company’s campus. He claimed he was trying to “test” the robot and was ultimately charged with being drunk in public and a Knightscope employee requested his arrest for prowling.

In July, a Knightscope robot drowned itself, falling into a fountain after it was “hired” to patrol a Washington, DC, office building.

I welcome our new robot overlords.

Johnny 5, undercover with the SPCA.

skynet.

This is a common problem in SF, I have seen for myself in SF earlier this year. Astounding how this is normal everyday shit.





They don't need robots. Just a pair of balls and some strong fire hoses.

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Robot security guard

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Originally posted by oddball:
This is a common problem in SF, I have seen for myself in SF earlier this year. Astounding how this is normal everyday shit.

They don't need robots. Just a pair of balls and some strong fire hoses.

portland is the same way. Tents everywhere.

Parts of Hawaii too if you can believe it.

I have no idea what the solution is. Similar to the feral cat problem in some ways -- the more you feed them, the more feral cats you have.

quote:

Originally posted by oddball:
This is a common problem in SF, I have seen for myself in SF earlier this year. Astounding how this is normal everyday shit.





They don't need robots. Just a pair of balls and some strong fire hoses.

Google employees?

I used to work across the street from that location, and it's ridiculous. It's the borderland area between all the techies and the druggies who inhabit all the freeway overpasses. The area was a former manufacturing and warehouse neighborhood; old Seal Stadium was nearby, Papst and Lucky Lager had their breweries, Hostess made their pies in another building, Anchor Steam's brewery is less than 1/4-mile away. Now, one side of the street (SPCA-side) filled with tents occupied by drug fueled crazies and the other newly arrived techies in refurbished warehouse buildings. Go further down the street and it becomes ground-zero to human bad discussion making.

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Originally posted by radioman:
I have no idea what the solution is. Similar to the feral cat problem in some ways -- the more you feed them, the more feral cats you have.

The feral cats I feed have all been fixed (the females).

flashguy

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Last week, the city of San Francisco ordered the SPCA to keep its robot off the sidewalks or it would face a $1,000-a-day penalty for operating it in the public right-of-way without a permit.

I'd like to see what law they'd use to enforce that...

Four years of working in downtown Tacoma has hardened my heart to these people. I could, and should write a book. Most of what I've seen shouldn't even be posted about here.

I have no sympathy for their terror and revulsion of the robot, and I completely understand the desire to not want to be physically down amongst them in the needles and the feces. I've seen and experienced things I can't have sympathy for. Human raccoons.

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Last week, the city of San Francisco ordered the SPCA to keep its robot off the sidewalks or it would face a $1,000-a-day penalty for operating it in the public right-of-way without a permit.

But no fines for people living in tents in the right-of-way without a permit? That makes perfect sense

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Originally posted by ryan81986:

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Last week, the city of San Francisco ordered the SPCA to keep its robot off the sidewalks or it would face a $1,000-a-day penalty for operating it in the public right-of-way without a permit.

I'd like to see what law they'd use to enforce that...

Latest article I saw, SPCA took down the robots and were going through the permit process. I think they'll be fighting an uphill battle as their reason for using the robots was real security was $16 an hour while these robots were $6 an hour.

Since they took down the robots, the SPCA reported at least 2 acts of vandalism.

I spent three days in San Francisco years ago during a "Fleet Week". I was a lance coconut and we went up on the USS Duluth (an LPD). We had a good time, lots of liberty. I loved the sourdough bread bowls with chowder and the cool misty mornings. Pier 45? The Embarcadero? Those were the days. I remember wandering into "the tenderloin" with a few buddies and a cabbie picked us up and took us back to the pier. I also remember being drunk on the pier and having the SP's come by...

I don't plan on going back. Oh well.

Bums should be shot and throw in dumpsters. I hate them. If robots are terrorizing bums, life is getting better. I left San Francisco for several reasons. #1 is the shitty, fucked up government #2 was the shitty, fucked up bums government refused to deal with. #3 was the shitty, fucked up citizenry who were scared of government, except when they wanted to use the force of government to compel their fellow citizens to do something, or not do something. I will never again cross a CA border.

Those pics are identical to what we have in Seattle. I believe we are 3rd in the nation for homeless and SF is 6th. ..

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Originally posted by 2PAK:
I believe we are 3rd in the nation for homeless and SF is 6th. ..

Best wishes in your race to the bottom.

You know, I will say this, those pictures show remarkably clean conditions upon further inspection. I mean, you got tents and bums, sure, but there's not feces splattered all over every surface. I'm gonna stop there.

I think the problem might just be worse up here.

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Originally posted by notarex:

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Last week, the city of San Francisco ordered the SPCA to keep its robot off the sidewalks or it would face a $1,000-a-day penalty for operating it in the public right-of-way without a permit.

But no fines for people living in tents in the right-of-way without a permit? That makes perfect sense

What would the point be?

They have no reported income to gouge, so all a court could do was hold them in contempt and throw them in jail. Then you have a bum sitting in jail for contempt taking up a bed that could be for a "real" criminal and the taxpayers paying for it. We have bums here who are well into the tens of thousands in dollars in outstanding fines for their various bumness. Public intox, open container, public urination, disorderly conduct, etc, etc, etc. They have no money and they have learned there are no consequences that matter to them anyway.

The difference between the homeless and the SPCA in this case is that the SPCA has a structure and some assets. The city would get their money out of them and they probably don't want the bad press anyway.