San Antonio security company tests surveillance robots

The San Antonio security company tests surveillance robots from Singapore at the SAMMinistries shelter. Two robots from Singapore will begin securing the perimeter of SAMMinistries’ downtown shelter starting next week.

Since the nonprofit, which offers housing and services for people experiencing homelessness, opened the shelter at a downtown San Antonio Holiday Inn in December 2023, it has contracted with Texas Veteran Security to patrol the site.

Across three shifts, 27 guards monitor the perimeter of the former hotel, at 318 W. Cesár E. Chávez Blvd. on the west side of downtown, by foot and vehicle around the clock.

SAMMinistries needed more security guards because its capacity for unsheltered people has grown. “We went from a 52-room facility to a 200-room facility. Multiply everything by four, that includes security costs,” said Rex Brien, vice president of Emergency Services for SAMMinistries.  

But now, the two new security robots will “save costs,” shelter and security officials say, by patrolling the outdoor perimeter 24/7. No guards are being laid off, Texas Veteran Security’s CEO Gerard Morales said, adding that the 70% of employees are veterans. Instead, the robots will enhance staff capabilities, by not adding more staff, he said.

“[Guards are] going to be used inside to beef up security, instead of outside watch guards,” Morales said. “Instead of adding people, we’ll be able to view [surveillance] from the guard’s post at the front.”

“Deterrent is what we want from these robots,” he said.

SAMMinistries said the shelter needs the robots because of its location in a heavy foot traffic area. And with some approvals delaying construction on the exterior fence, according to the nonprofit, security needs to guard the perimeter to keep strangers from entering.

The “O-R3” robots, made by Singapore-based robotics maker OTSAW, are autonomous, outdoor surveillance robots that memorize their path, and therefore don’t need to be controlled remotely.

They can patrol open spaces, avoid obstacles through their sensors, and return to their bases when their charge runs out. 

The robots record video and photos of a 360-degree view while they patrol the outdoor perimeter. Officers don’t have to monitor the cameras, instead they’re alerted when an obstacle arises, when a person is identified or if someone asks for help. The robots can stop and let a person walk or a car pass, and can go around objects in the way.

“We’re looking at ways to reduce costs but still keeping safety in mind. We don’t want to compromise safety for our residents [or] our staff,” Brien said.

A test run

A week before the robots’ debut at a press event on Thursday, Texas Veteran Security and SAMMinistries teamed up to brief shelter residents on the new technology they’ll see in the coming days, Brien said, to ensure they aren’t startled by the cameras, lights or sirens. 

Residents sat in a benched area during the presentation, seemingly unbothered by the new security robots. Others walked up curiously to check them out up close. 

Texas Veteran Security ordered the robots six months ago, before receiving them three weeks ago. Behind Morales, OTSAW engineers on site configured the perimeter of the shelter so the robot would memorize its path. Renz Adante, an engineer from Singapore, tested the robots for the first time at the shelter. 

The robots run on Wi-Fi and cellular service. At the shelter, they’ll operate on Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service, Morales said. They can operate for eight hours, then require a two-hour charge. While one guards the property, the other robot will charge, and they’ll switch when needed. 

The robots can also be programmed for facial recognition to identify a specific person. They allow for two-way communication from guards inside and the person encountering the robot to help people in the parking lot, and the robots can keep video recordings of their surveillance.

The siren can broadcast messages like, “Please come to the front of the location,” for example. It can go over speed bumps and terrain, but isn’t able to withstand heavy storms.

Brien said the robots will start a trial run next week for 30 days. 

“We’ll see if this works for us [and] if it meets the need we have for security, and if it is an effective use of our costs.” Brien said, “It’s not a ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing.’”

Implementing the robots will help save one-third of the costs of a guard, Morales said. His security company will start offering the robot service to clients who are a fit for continuous outdoor security.

Commercial Director for OTSAW Duane Rumski said the SAMMinistries robots are the first of their kind in Texas. There are already some OTSAW robots in New York, New Mexico and in Washington, Rumski said. There are already 1,000 robots in Europe and Germany.

The San Antonio International Airport recently made headlines for adding a robot that drew criticism in other cities made by California-based Knightscope Inc. to respond to security alarms.