Entertainment Report
This police robot could make traffic stops safer
A California man has built a robot that he hopes will take some of the danger out of traffic stops — those anxiety-provoking and potentially deadly encounters between police officers and motorists that play out on American roads more than 50,000 times a day.
The GoBetween robot is attached to a rod that extends forward from an officer’s car to a motorist’s window, enabling the officer and the motorist to communicate with one another without leaving their vehicles. The bot can even issue a ticket.
“I got tired of hearing news reports of motorists and cops getting shot or run over in traffic stops, usually in what seemed like preventable situations,” Reuben Brewer, a mechanical engineer at the nonprofit research organization SRI International in Menlo Park, California, and the robot’s inventor, said in an email. “I’d be absolutely thrilled for this robot to save even a single life … No one should die in a traffic stop.”
Of course, that’s not the case today.
Nationwide statistics on traffic stop outcomes are hard to find, but experts say they lead to many injuries and deaths each year — particularly among black motorists, who are more likely than their white counterparts to experience violence from police. Police officers, meanwhile, run the risk of being assaulted by motorists or struck by passing cars.
GoBetween has all the tools it needs to conduct traffic stops, including a tablet screen, webcam, signature pad and a small printer that spits out the citations.
A video posted by SRI International shows how the proof-of-concept prototype robot works: Once the officer’s vehicle is parked behind the motorist’s car, GoBetween rolls up to the driver’s side window of the motorist, where it becomes the officer’s eyes, ears and mouth. A spike strip automatically placed in front of the car’s rear wheels keeps the motorist from driving away until the traffic stop is completed.
“The robot is purely defensive, so it can’t hurt the motorist,” Brewer said of the unarmed bot.
What do experts make of the traffic stop robot? Amy Shoemaker, a data scientist involved with the Stanford Open Policing Project, offered a mixed assessment.
“If there is a role for this tool, it’s to help prevent tragedies like Philando Castile’s death,” she said, Castile, 32, was an African-American man who was fatally shot by police in 2016 after being pulled over in St. Paul, Minnesota. But given the complexities of race and policing, she said, “it doesn’t seem like a panacea.”
Shoemaker’s team at Stanford found that black drivers were pulled over and searched more often than white drivers, even though they were less likely to be found with illegal drugs or weapons.
“Addressing the potential for violence in traffic stops is important,” Khalilah Brown-Dean, a political science professor at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, said in an email. “But until we address and eliminate the bias that shapes which individuals, groups, and neighborhoods are more likely to be stopped and surveilled, these tech innovations will remain a temporary fix to a much larger problem.”
Brewer, who built the first version of GoBetween in his garage and bolted it onto his own car for testing, agrees. “It’s only part of the solution,” he said of the robot. “But I hope one day it could save lives.”
He said he’s now working on a second prototype that can access a car’s passenger side window, adding that he hoped to secure funding to further develop the bot and conduct field tests with police.
By: NBC Palm Springs
May 10, 2019
Latest Instagram Posts
Palm Springs Pride is celebrating 40 years of community and inclusion this year. And while hundreds of thousands of people painted the town rainbow, others took the occasion to protest against the exclusion of one group from the parade. Tune in to our on air newscasts at 8:30 and 11 p.m as our @newsbyalondra takes us inside the festivities and protest that took place this year.
Who makes the NBC Top 3, winner will be announced Sunday night on NBC Palm Springs, with the player who makes the number one spot winning a $250 prize from @hondaofthedesert! Comment below if it will be 1) John Moreno Jr. with the TFL 2) Kingston Pellum with the snag or, 3)Parker Lewis with the interception #hondaofthedesert #fnl #fridaynightlights #fyp #highschoolfootball
Pride weekend brought the party to the pool at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs! David Reese stopped by the annual GED Magazine pool party, where an estimated 1,000 people gathered to celebrate community, inclusivity and Pride. The festivities continue with more events, including the Locker Room after-hours party and the Refresh pool party following Sunday’s parade. #PalmSpringsPride #PrideWeekend #AceHotel #GEDMagazine #NBCPalmSprings
@chef_matthew_resler executive chef and partner of @ashandvine.restaurant sits down with us to talk about his life as a marine sniper and law enforcement officer, family dinner at his Italian household, cooking on tour with Jason Aldean, how cooking food brings him out of his shell, and a friendship with two co-workers that blossomed into a must try restaurant in downtown Palm Springs. The full episode is on our YouTube page and nbcpalmsprings.com #palmspringsrestaurant #palmspringsfood #coachellavalleyrestaurant
Palm Springs Pride is officially underway and many local businesses are already looking ahead at the major economic boost this annual event brings every year. Our @newsbyalondra will have live coverage at 4:30, 5 and 6 p.m on air and online where she’ll speak to business owners about how they prep for the big crowds.
A federal judge blocked construction of President Trump’s 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery for 14 days, less than an hour after the project won final approval despite hours of public opposition.
Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed called Vice President JD Vance “habibi” during his victory speech. But the Arabic term of affection can have very different meanings depending on the context. CNN’s Leila Gharagozlou explains.
CRIME: Where do you stand on the death penalty? A sweeping decision impacting hundreds of California inmates: Governor Gavin Newsom is commuting the death sentences of ALL 548 people on California’s death row, changing their punishment to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin is speaking out, accusing Newsom of injecting politics into the criminal justice system. What does this mean for California’s death penalty moving forward? We’re following the latest developments.
Watch the Palm Springs Pride Parade LIVE this Sunday at 10 AM on NBC Palm Springs’ Facebook and YouTube channels! Join hosts Thalia Hayden and NBC Palm Springs News Director David Reese for all the parade excitement, live from Palm Springs. Can’t make it in person? Celebrate with us online! Livestream sponsored by @DAP Health #PalmSpringsPride #PrideParade #NBCPalmSprings
Honor our veterans and get moving at the 3rd Annual Indio Veterans Day 5K & 10K Run! Join the community Wednesday, November 11, at the Empire Polo Club for a morning of fitness, fun and recognition of the men and women who have served our country. Register now and save $10 on your registration fee with promo code NBCUniversal. See you at the starting line! #Indio #VeteransDay #VeteransDay5K #VeteransDay10K #CoachellaValley #NBCPalmSprings