Bot on the Beat
PICTURED ABOVE
Newport Police Department demonstrates how SWAT-Bot can be utilized as extra eyes and ears for officers. (Photo provided)
What does a police department, an energy company and a university have in common? Usually—nothing. That was until a partnership between Newport Police Department (NPD), Duke Energy and Northern Kentucky University (NKU) came together to create SWAT-Bot. And despite being made of cold metal and gears, SWAT-Bot’s story has a lot of heart.
The Professor, the Policeman and the Robot
In 2015, Steve Hinkle, an NKU professor and director of Advanced Technology Applications at Duke Energy, approached Newport law enforcement with a crazy idea—to build a robot. The concept sprang into action after a discussion with Hinkle’s students, according to NPD Capt. Paul Kunkel. The captain is a member of the local SWAT team who became highly involved in the project and now operates SWAT-Bot.
Rhonda Whitaker, Duke Energy’s vice president of governmental affairs, assisted Hinkle and Kunkel in getting a grant from the company to support the robot’s creation—then the real work began.
“If we have a robot, I want it to be able to go where I don’t want to put a police officer,” Kunkel said.
Sometimes that location is up or down steps and requires breaking glass. Often, the object of a mission is to communicate with someone in crisis.
Kunkel visited the college classroom multiple times to speak to Hinkle’s students who helped develop the bot. He was impressed by the students’ attention to detail, security and hacking prevention. He also asked the class to keep the design simple and affordable in a time when the cost of technology can be prohibitive to many police agencies who may later want to follow SWAT-bot’s design.
After 10 iterations, the current SWAT-Bot can see, hear and speak. It has night vision, lights, a loudspeaker, and a lockbox for a cellphone –to be used instead of a throw phone. An actuator arm can assist in looking down into vehicles.
A moveable observation post, Kunkel said, the 80-pound robot is light enough that he can pick it up and put it in the back of his car for transport. Some of the older versions were heavier, moved on two wheels and ran off car batteries—as opposed to the lithium ones it uses today.
(Photo provided)
“One of the greatest things with the robot was that it was a great outreach opportunity,” Hinkel said in an interview with The Northerner, NKU’s news outlet, the year the bot was built. “To see everyone responding so positively was great. There were even some students from other schools who wanted to get involved. Everyone seemed to love this thing.”
Talking to the People
In addition to being a communication aid in the field, SWAT-Bot also serves as an education tool that Kunkel takes into schools to teach children about things like calling 911, gun safety or simple things like not picking up needles or unknown objects off the ground. He also talks to kids about education and college—where SWAT-Bot was created.
“Getting cops in schools talking with kids starts a conversation,” Kunkel explained. “Lots of children can go through school, and if they never see an officer until they get in trouble, they never know who a police officer is. I know we have SROs, but (SWAT-Bot) allows us to go in and talk about what we do and why we do it. And that’s pretty cool.”
Kunkel also returns to NKU—which happens to be his alma mater—to speak not just about law enforcement but technology and its place in policing.
A Bot for Everybody
With more agencies moving toward modern technology, Kunkel noted all the benefits of having a robot.
“In law enforcement, you have to be prepared to meet the needs of the community,” he said. “This sends the message that maybe we are a bit more prepared than most. We have taken steps to keep people safe, because in crises, the best results are when you can talk to someone, and everyone can walk away from the (incident).”
Robots give departments an advantage in safety by slowing down time. The captain said that, sometimes, starting a conversation with a person in a crisis can prevent them from planning or doing the things they might otherwise do sitting alone or just in a house with a throw phone. SWAT-Bot provides that method of communication while also putting distance between officers and the threat.
He added that when agencies bring technology into their communities, they should be prepared to educate citizens about what those innovations will be used for and how they are good additions to the department.
Whether for the mitigation measures it provides, or the educational opportunities and conversations it sparks, Kunkel said SWAT-Bot is a success.
