Last month, I parked at the Silver Reef Casino near Ferndale, Washington, climbed out from behind the wheel and did a double-take when I saw an R2D2-like robot rolling through the lot with a blue light and “Security” painted on its side.
I’ve always been a science fiction fan, and I loved the original Star Wars movies, so seeing a blue-and-white, self-driving robot in action nearly 50 years later stopped me cold.
OK, it’s not actually called R2D2 like the adorable Star Wars robotic hero. Instead, it’s R.O.B., a new security robot employed by casinos in Las Vegas that patrols a parking lot in Whatcom County. Last December, Unico Properties deployed a R.O.B. security robot in downtown Portland to provide remote-controlled security of the U.S. Bancorp Tower and guard a new 120-foot mural dubbed Radiance.
A little research on the Knightscope K5 Autonomous Security Robot created by a Silicon Valley company shows the camera- and microphone-equipped robot with sensors can gather and relay data on suspicious vehicles, people and license plates to security teams who monitor the high-definition images that R.O.B. shows them. The robots cost about $9 an hour to deploy or $60,000 to $70,000 a year, but who knows? Maybe someday the price will drop.
I love seeing sci-fi turned into reality.
I’m a longtime Star Trek fan with books that describe behind-the-scenes bloopers and stories about each episode. But while I’m a Trekkie fan, I’m not a fanatic, as I realized when my sister and I caught the end of a Star Trek convention in Portland years ago and saw people parading around in Starfleet uniforms with phasers and communicators latched to belts around their waists.
Last week, while driving to Chehalis to meet a friend, I again did a double-take when I saw a pointy, futuristic stainless steel gray-and-black rig like something out of Blade Runner zipping past me in the left lane. As traffic slowed, I took an exit to take a photo. Turns out it’s a Tesla Cybertruck introduced late last November, one of 200,000 the company planned to sell this year. Tesla has a five-year waiting list for purchasers of the 600 to 845-horsepower electric truck. The battery-operated 3.3-ton truck sells for $79,000. Customers can even add bullet-proof glass.
And, of course, there’s BellaBot at the Oak Tree restaurant in Woodland. I first gawked at the rolling robot delivering our meals in April when Edna Fund and I met my stepdaughter there for lunch on the way to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival near Woodburn, Oregon.
Then I saw the robot again earlier this month when I stopped at the Oak Tree for lunch with Julia Anderson, a former editor for The Columbian who hosts a public television program called “Smart Money.” She interviewed me and another personal historian about the work we do during a recording session at the TVCTV station in Beaverton, Oregon.
During both luncheon visits, Brenda took our food orders and served the food — with help from the BellaBot, a delivery robot. Designed by Pudu, the cute rolling robot with large round eyes in a cat-like digital face carried our plates of food on shelves and rolled to our table ahead of our waitress. The robot features voice recognition, entertaining animations, and 3D sensors and cameras to avoid obstacles. It comes with a price tag of $15,899.
To keep up with the prevalence of artificial intelligence, the Washington state Legislature created an 18-member task force to discuss how to regulate AI. Among the members who held their first meeting on Friday are state lawmakers, tech executives and government officials. Regulation seems in order, especially after creators of ChatGPT trained the program on the creative works of published authors without compensating them. The task force will consider how to protect intellectual property, provide oversight of AI, prevent racial biases and discrimination, and ensure transparency.
As I watched BellaBot in action, I couldn’t help thinking of my days of waiting tables during summer breaks from college. Although I realize it’s a sin, I took great pride in my ability to carry four large plates in my left arm and one in my right while serving customers. I could carry three water glasses in one hand, too.
But that wasn’t always the case.
On my first morning on the job, a veteran waitress tried to teach me to carry several plates at one time. I wobbled in an off-kilter balancing dance to the table, where scrambled eggs and hash browns promptly slid off a plate into the lap of a restaurant patron.
Oh, my goodness! I was mortified.
He didn’t yell or scream but took pity on me, I think. However, I don’t believe I received a tip.
What I wouldn’t have given that day for a little help from BellaBot.
SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON WRITERS CONFERENCE
Early registration deadline for the Southwest Washington Writers Conference on Sept. 6 and 7 is Wednesday. The conference is already filling fast. This might be the first time we ever sell out completely. All proceeds from the conference benefit the Centralia College Foundation. For details visit www.southwestwashingtonwriters.com.
Don’t forget the Lewis County chapter of the AAUW is holding an Evening with the Authors on Sept. 6 featuring Garth Stein, who wrote “The Art of Dancing in the Rain,” and Olivia Hawker, author of “One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow.” Proceeds from the event benefit Hope Alliance, a domestic abuse treatment center in Centralia.
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo and president of the nonprofit Southwest Washington Writers Conference, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.
