Less than a year after the Pechanga Resort Casino introduced two robots to enhance the Southern California property’s security staff, another four are expected to join the force in the next two months.
Robert Krauss, vice president of public safety at Pechanga, told the World Game Protection conference at the Tropicana Las Vegas last week the robots have been a success. Also, facial recognition technology will be added to their programming.
In addition, Krauss said the resort – which is located in Temecula just north of San Diego – plans to add drones within the next year or two to flow over the property’s ground, providing additional security measures.
Pechanga added the robots to the security staff last May. Provided by California-based Knightscope, one was stationary robot was located at the casino’s main entrance. A second was mobile and patrolled the atrium and hotel lobby. The four additional robots will be stationary, covering the property’s other three entrances to the casino and the pool area.
“It’s a huge success,” Krauss said after providing a program overview to security and surveillance experts during the conference.
“They work,” he said. “We have all these entrances. The first one was a test to see how people reacted and how it worked. It’s been fantastic. People’s take on them is it’s a fun thing, and that they’re really protecting them and making them safer. It’s a way for Pechanga to show the dedication to the safety and security of our patrons.”
Cost for the security measure runs between $7 to 8 an hour per machine, which operate 24 hours a day. Krauss said the expense is worth the cost. There hasn’t been any vandalism, thefts or other incidents where the robots have been stationed.
The introduction of drones would provide security for Penchanga’s golf course and other casino grounds.
“It would be for unauthorized access areas, the golf course after hours, and the pool after hours,” Krauss said. “It would be an overview. Drones have thermal imaging and good night vision. They have a good field of view so I don’t have to put somebody else in danger to go out there a mile down where someone may be doing something nefarious. It will stop vandalism and keep an eye on the hills because in California we have a lot of fires. I want early fire protection.”
Krauss said the technology he’s willing to implement won’t replace any security staff.
“It’s giving the men and women who work for us more tools to effectively do their jobs,” Krauss said.
Krauss said many casinos haven’t adopted robots because of fear of new technology and funding. He said he has other security ideas but isn’t ready to disclose those items.
Pechanga’s mobile robot is controlled by radar, moves about 3 to 4 miles an hour and hasn’t bumped into any guests.
“It’s cool. The mobile one we call ‘Buddy’ people refer to as ‘R2-D2’ from (the) Star Wars (movies) and the robot from Dr. Who,” Krauss said.
The robots have video streaming and recording, can detect people, have license plate recognition, detect thermal anomalies, have a two-way intercom that guests can access, and have pre-recorded messages of greetings. They also include the casino’s brand posted on them.
The robots will be adding facial technology next week to identify people banned from the property as a way to better protect the guests.
“The safer people feel the more they will want to come back to your property,” Krauss said
Krauss decided to add the robots following the Oct. 1, 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that left 58 people dead and hundreds wounded.
Robots should be used in security rather than just delivering pizza or towels to hotel rooms, Krauss said. The visibility of the robots is a deterrence just like police car would be, even if empty, sitting at the corner of a four-way stop.
“We have worked hard so we won’t be reactive but proactive,” Krauss said at the conference. “I want to do what it takes to stop an incident before it occurs. In this industry, we have a long way to go. If we don’t start doing it now, I truly believe it will be hard to catch up later on.”
The mobile robot is the more popular of the two. “Buddy” stands five feet, two inches and weighs 420 pounds. Krauss said it’s designed to patrol Pechanga’s outside and parking lots but is kept inside to create a presence and deter negative behavior.
“People see a robot and have no idea what it does,” Krauss said. “But it gives security and surveillance teams a different perspective of the floor when you have cameras at eye level moving around 360 degrees. It’s pretty phenomenal and picks up a lot of alerts and detection.”
Krauss said he would like the robots to have weapons detection technology in the future. It already has signal detection of smart phones of people who aren’t supposed to be on the property as well or in an authorized area.
“When I put these in, I wasn’t too sure how people would react to this new technology,” Krauss said. “We thought people might have privacy concerns, but it’s the exact opposite. They enjoy it.”
Krauss said children will run up to the robots and ask questions and try to see if someone is inside driving it around. At the right moment, people can see the robot open its eyes, which creates an experience for the guest.
Krauss added the robots will be used for 500 to 1,000 selfies a day.
