R2-D2: Mall Cop

theodp writes "'The night watchman of the future,' explains the NY Times' John Markoff, 'is 5 feet tall, weighs 300 pounds and looks a lot like R2-D2 – without the whimsy. And will work for $6.25 an hour.' California-based Knightscope has developed a mobile robot known as the K5 Autonomous Data Machine as a safety and security tool for corporations, as well as for schools and neighborhoods. 'But what is for some a technology-laden route to safer communities and schools,' writes Markoff, 'is to others an entry point to a post-Orwellian, post-privacy world.'"

Re:Don't get to cocky about your options ...

[Salgak1]

Actually, if I wanted to defeat one of these, I'd build an EMP Pulse generator into something innocuous, and fry it from a distance.

Example (although likely too low-powered to disable a MallBot . . ):

http://www.wikihow.com/Build-an-EMP-Generator [wikihow.com]

Re:Spray-paint and bubble-gum!!?

[pla]

if the paper generates enough heat to fool the robots, it would also generate enough heat to cause the magnets to lose their magnetism. Rare earth magnets, maybe not -- but telephone headset magnets -- definitely.

NIB (the most common "Rare Earth" type) magnets actually have the lowest Curie temperature of any common magnets (as low as 300C), and the much more common AlNiCo magnets have one of the highest (up to around 900C). Both of those exceed the temperature of burning paper, however, at around 232C.

MacGyver knows his shit, yo! ;)