Sand Lake Elementary School students and staff pictured with Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings and Orange County Convention Center Security Director Isiah White, Jr.

The Orange County Convention Center’s (OCCC) Security team introduced its newest addition – a 5-foot, 500-pound autonomous security robot that will play a vital role in ensuring the safety of OCCC guests by increasing the scope of surveillance on the Center’s campus, while significantly augmenting the Security team’s efforts.

Produced by Knightscope Inc., a developer of advanced physical security technologies focused on enhancing U.S. security operations, this Autonomous Security Robot (ASR) is what the company calls a “game-changer.” The OCCC is the first convention center to deploy this technological tool in partnership with Knightscope Inc.

“We look forward to introducing this incredible technology to The Center of Hospitality,” said OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester. “We are excited about the partnership with Knightscope and are eager to see the enhanced levels of customer service that BBot will provide to the nearly 1.5 million guests we welcome each year.”

The OCCC also engaged with a local elementary school, Sand Lake Elementary, to help name the new robot. Sand Lake Elementary launched a school-wide naming contest and the winning name came from third-grader Melodie Arroyo, who coined the robot as “BBot,” which she says stands for “Bringing Bravery Out Together.”

A momentous occasion to debut the robot’s arrival and name was held with Melodie and her class via a field trip to the OCCC, featuring Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings.

BBot will provide 360-degree video surveillance to monitor crowds. Its video stream connects directly to the OCCC Security Command Center. It will feature a “help” button that attendees can utilize, which also has a direct line to the Command Center. BBot has thermal imaging capabilities that can detect temperature abnormalities both among humans and in the physical environment. This allows for safety features such as early fire detection and picking up a presence of an elevated body temperature.

As a finishing touch, BBot will voice a set of recorded messages, featuring the voice of Mayor Demings.

“BBot will be a revolutionary tool for the OCCC’s Security Team, however, it is not meant to replace the essential human element to safety,” said Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings. “Rather, it is meant to make security more effective. BBot will serve as a robust addition to an already award-winning security staff, devoted to creating Transformational Experiences through safety.”

The OCCC is eager to evaluate BBot’s performance during its first year of deployment. Based on those results, the Security team will determine whether there is a need and value in adding more droids to the force.

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