The future is here: ADT’s innovation lab evaluating robots and indoor drones

New robots and indoor drones for security applications are on the horizon, based on the work of ADT Commercials’ Innovation Lab, which is evaluating the new technologies’ value to customers and some typical use cases.

The Innovation Lab has been in place for just under a year and just moved into a 2,000-square-foot facility that is staffed with four dedicated ADT Commercial employees and teams from various commercial innovation partners.

The idea of the lab is to close the gap between the incubation of new technologies and the needs and realities of the ultimate customer. The goal is to adapt the design of a product to meet the customer’s need, instead of forcing the customer to adapt their use of the technology to meet its limitations.

Addressing a problem

Every project or investment at the innovation lab starts with the identification of the problem, never the solution"

"Every project or investment at the innovation lab starts with the identification of the problem, never the solution," says Ed Bacco, Vice President, Enterprise Security Risk Group for ADT Commercial. “Then we develop detailed functional requirements to address what this technology needs to do to address the problem.”

“Then – and only then – do we move toward developing the technical specifications to answer how the technology needs to operate to address the problem,” he adds.

Prioritising innovation

The approach sets ADT Commercial apart from most labs. The last item they focus on is the creation of a business model to address how they can sell the technology.

“Early on, the company recognised that if we truly want to focus on innovation, we need to prioritise invention over profits, which is why the lab doesn’t operate under a profit-and-loss model,” says Bacco. This article will describe two recent technologies the Innovation Lab has been working with, and how they can impact the future of the security industry.

Halodi Humanoid Robotics

Unlike other competitive robot solutions, Halodi Humanoid Robotics can interact with the built environment

The ideal use of humanoid robots is to perform jobs that are considered repetitive, dirty, dangerous, and/or mundane. In security, that describes most security guard positions.

Unlike some other competitive robot solutions, Halodi Humanoid Robotics can interact with the built environment, meaning that they can autonomously open doors, call elevators, present security badges, operate pins pads, and more.

Observe and report functionality

The basic use case for the bot is based on the fact that the role of 98% of all security guards is to “observe and report.” There is often a misconception in the public that guards are widely permitted to engage hands-on with alleged offenders, but most guarding contracts restrict that ability.

Therefore, given the mundane and routine nature of guarding, humans find it a challenge to maintain the high degree of awareness that is needed, whereas the bots never waiver, never rest and never lose awareness.  

Alternative to human guards

If a bot is to serve as an alternative to human guards, then it needs to interact with the human environment

The bot wasn’t designed to be “human-like.” There is a general concept in humanoid robotics called the “uncanny valley” that defines a tipping point when humans become uncomfortable with humanoid robots if their design resembles humans too closely.

However, if a bot is to serve as an alternative to human guards, then it needs to be capable of interacting with an environment that was designed for humans. That means opening doors, riding elevators, bending down, picking up items, etc.

Remotely operated

Current robotic devices are skilled at sensing/analysing the environments they are deployed in, but their ability to interact with them is limited.

The other advantage of a humanoid robot is when it’s being remotely operated in the avatar mode, meaning virtually, the human operator finds the experience familiar and intuitively knows what to do.

Access, intrusion, and VMS integration

The bots can be integrated with access control, intrusion, and video management systems and can conduct patrols autonomously and report anomalies and/or respond to alarms via those same systems.

The bots can be equipped with other sensors to constantly analyse the environment for threats to human life such as carbon monoxide, smoke, hazardous chemicals, or poor air quality.

IR capabilities

IR capabilities also enable the bot to detect the possible failing or overheating of equipment

They are capable of “seeing” in the Infrared Range (IR), which makes them suitable for responding to the source of fire/smoke alarms while humans evacuate.

IR capabilities also enable the bot to detect the possible failing or overheating of equipment. Although designed to operate autonomously, the bot can also be controlled by a simple point-and-click mapping device or using the avatar control system.

Applications

“The biggest challenge we’ve seen with customers who are conducting in-field pilots is aligning their excitement of how the bots can improve their traditionally non-security applications with the current capabilities,” says Bacco.

These applications include using the bots to conduct safety audits of items like fire extinguishers and Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), serving as a fire watch, greeting visitors in the lobby, and automating gates at industrial and distribution sites.

Autonomous Indoor Drones

COVID-19 has shown that customers are looking for predictable and repeatable solutions to meet their security needs"

As the name implies, autonomous indoor drones are focused on flying indoors versus the outdoor environment, which is heavily regulated by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Flying autonomously indoors not only eliminates FAA oversight but also will enable ADT Commercial to offer another choice to customers to further reduce their dependencies on and costs of human guards.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that customers are looking for predictable and repeatable solutions to meet their security needs that aren’t dependent on humans,” says Bacco. The three use cases for the drones are automated alarm response, random tours, and directed missions.

Automated response mode

In the automated response mode, when an alarm is triggered, the drone will automatically initiate a mission to the point of alarm and report any anomalies (i.e., people, heat signature, etc.).

It can also be programmed to fly random patrols as a deterrent to a possible breach, and an operator can remotely initiate a mission using a simple point-and-click map interface. 

Drone mobility

An obvious comparison is to fixed camera systems, which are an important component of any security system.

But, unlike a fixed device, the mobility of a drone enables a view of an environment that is more easily understood by humans, meaning that we think and see in 3D, whereas fixed views are limited to 2D. Added to that, there is a deterrence factor that a mobile surveillance device has over a fixed.

Noise consideration and applications

Customers want to fly drones 24/7 in minimally manned locations such as data centres, warehouses

The drone is designed to operate in environments that are being shared with humans. As an example, it will not initiate a mission if a person is standing under it, and it will autonomously alter course if a person is in its flight path.

However, like all drones, the noise factor is a consideration, and the best applications in offices are after hours. Customers want to fly them 24/7 in more minimally manned locations such as data centres, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities, where noise is less a factor.

Stand-alone and integrated system

An indoor drone can be operated as a stand-alone system with its user interface, or it can be integrated fully with traditional security and VMS systems.

“We are also developing additional computer vision-based analytics that will leverage the cameras on the drone,” says Bacco.