There’s R2-D2, Roomba, and now, Rudy the robot.

The Autonomous Security Robot (ASR) from Knightscope Inc. is on patrol nightly for Security Services Northwest Inc. and its neighbors.

Joe D’Amico, president of Security Services Northwest Inc., said he’s been looking into what the robot can do for about a year and it’s been on patrol two weeks in Sequim going around the business block of Center Park Way.

Rudy, named after one of Security Services Northwest’s German shepherds, is 5-and-a-half feet tall and weighs 420 pounds. It features 360-degree video streamed live and recorded in high definition with thermal anomaly detection, license plate recognition, an emergency call button to dispatchers, two-way speakers, lights and more.

According to Knighscope’s webpage, the robots “are physical deterrents for illicit activities (and) we look out for known threats like terminated employees, criminal trespassers, and even domestic abusers that may try to cause a disturbance with your employees.”

D’Amico said the robot won’t fall asleep on the job, call in sick or need paid time off.

“Its purpose is two fold: to detect and alert, and as a deterrence presence,” he said.

However, he said it won’t ever replace a human security officer.

“It’ll augment them,” said Jay Jacobsen, Security Services Northwest’s contract officer.

Knightscope representatives told SSNW staff that the robots are warmly accepted, and D’Amico said that holds true with staff, families, neighbors, passers-by and a delivery driver commenting positively about Rudy.

“It’s been a morale booster,” he said.

Rudy is on a routine schedule each night and D’Amico welcomes people to drive by and get a photo with it in the early evening.

Jacobsen said Rudy is programmed on a circuit that Knightscope reps helped set up.

The purpose in bringing the robot to Sequim, D’Amico said was to try it out and see it in use before leasing robots out to interested businesses across SSNW’s five-state service area.

Security Services Northwest is an authorized reseller, he said, and they can lease robots to businesses/entities and SSNW staff can monitor locations through the robot and respond as needed.

“We can work with the client to do what they want,” D’Amico said.

Robots can be used in parking garages, strip malls, grocery stores, medical complexes and many more locales.

D’Amico said if there’s a construction site where no one is allowed after hours, it can detect people and vehicles and send an alert.

“Places with large footprints have all kinds of applications,” Jacobsen said.

Rudy has radar on it that allows it to go around obstacles, such as a parked car in its designated path. It can also go in cold and rainy weather, D’Amico, and be docked in inclement weather like Sequim’s recent snowy/icy week.

The robot has an emergency button that Jacobsen compares to a call box, found on college campuses, except mobile.

“It can help give a community peace of mind,” he said.

If there’s a local emergency, such as an Amber Alert or a BOLO (be on the lookout), the robot can help be of assistance with that, too, Jacobsen said.

If its battery is low, it goes back to charge on its own and continues to detect while charging, staff said.

Local law enforcement, the fire department and Clallam PUD have been made aware of Rudy, D’Amico said.

He said he is optimistic people won’t attempt to damage the robot due to its weight, consistent recording, and because of its cost it’d be a felony.

For more about Security Services Northwest Inc, visit ssnwhq.com.

For more about Knightscope, visit knightscope.com.

D’Amico took over as president of SSNW in 1987. It provides alarm installation and monitoring, armed and unarmed site security, K-9 and patrol services in Washington state, Alaska, Oregon, California and Nevada. It employs 732 people with its headquarters is in Sequim.

Some of SSNW’s customers include Lumen Field, Clallam PUD, the City of Port Angeles, the State of Washington and many more.

Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash Contract Manager Jay Jacobsen and company President Joe D’Amico with Security Services Northwest Inc., stand with Rudy the autonomous robot outside the Sequim headquarters. The robot is a new tool that they say will enhance security officers’ abilities to deter crime and help in emergencies.

An emergency button on Rudy the robot allows for people to seek emergency assistance at locations that robots are on patrol. Each robot features a two-way speaker system along with 360-video recording and thermal anomaly detection, and more.