Market for Security Robots Grows, But Data Privacy Concerns Remain

Robots have been infiltrating business and industry for decades, so it’s not surprising that AI and connected technologies like streaming video are now being enlisted to perform many of the security tasks currently handled by humans.

The global security robots market “was valued at USD 27.32 billion in 2021 and is expected to surpass $116.44 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 17.65% during the forecast period,” according to a study by Polaris Market Research.

Serve the Public Trust, Protect the Innocent, Uphold the Law

“They assist in monitoring and investigating surveillance areas” and are used particularly in “spying, explosive detection, dynamic mission planning, firefighting, demining, rescue operations, transportation and patrolling and others.”

Security robots can collect more data than humans can. They are mostly used in “parking lots, malls, schools, or campuses around the globe,” the research noted. “Growing demand for security robots and rising penetration of advanced automation techniques around the world are anticipated to drive the security robots market size” in the future.

“Cybersecurity has been moving to increased automation for years and adding robotics on the physical side is in the same vein,” said Mike Parkin, senior technical engineer at Vulcan Cyber. “Robotics and automation technology have reached the point where automated systems can enhance and extend the capabilities of security people in the real world.”

Autonomous robots, he said, “can deliver visibility and situational awareness into areas that would otherwise be inaccessible or unsafe for living personnel.”

The trend toward robots is also being fueled by a worker shortage. “The shortage of trained security personnel makes turning to automation—specifically, robots—very attractive,” said Bud Broomhead, CEO at Viakoo.

Currently, the increased use of unmanned solutions by the military and defense industry are the drivers of market growth. “Various benefits offered by security robots, such as the remote sensing abilities and increasing requirement for monitoring shopping malls, college campuses, parking lots and other public areas due to the security threats, are fueling the market growth,” the study said. “The increasing focus of various firms in the industry on developing advanced security solutions is further projected to bolster the security robots industry growth.”

Defense and military spending in developing countries like India, China and Indonesia—and on robots that are autonomous and AI-enabled—is also fueling growth. “A surge in developments in the advent of unmanned vehicles is another key factor anticipated to support the market demand over the anticipated period,” the research found.

The defense and military sector accounted for the largest share of the market, a position it will maintain going forward as UAVs and military R&D activities grow. But forecasters expected a high CAGR for the patrolling sector as governments increase investments in setting up “improved and enhanced managed security robotics services.”

They are also looking to rapid growth in North America as the use of “advanced weapons in the defense sector and the high deployment of surveillance security robots in the commercial sector [increases] with the help of several large market players.”

You Call That a Glitch?

But there are ethical and practical questions when it comes to using robots for security. “There are still some legal, ethical and social challenges with these robots, though,” said Parkin. “People already dislike dealing with automated checkouts and ordering kiosks when they’re shopping or getting food, so it’s no surprise they’re not comfortable with robots patrolling their streets and sky.”

Privacy, too, could be compromised and, if they’re not careful, companies could find themselves afoul of regulators. “The collection of vast amounts of data—while offering performance benefits—does come with privacy concerns when collecting personal information from the built-in surveillance technologies,” said Claude Mandy, chief evangelist, data security, at Symmetry Systems.

“This is best evidenced by the ongoing regulatory scrutiny of facial recognition vendors such as Clearview AI—particularly in Europe,” said Mandy. “As privacy regulations get revamped across the U.S., these considerations may impact the rapid growth and capabilities afforded by unlimited data collection.”

And “using automation to solve problems of scale can be, if not unchecked, a siren call. Automated facial recognition systems have been shown to have disproportionate inaccuracy in minority populations and, quite literally, have become implements of systemic racism,” said John Bambenek, principal threat hunter at Netenrich.

“Automation for ad tracking or natural language processing have a very low cost of error,” said Bambenek. “But when the cost of error is high, like with self-driving vehicles, much more care needs to be taken. When law enforcement (and by extension, security) gets things wrong, human rights violations can result.”

Indeed, he noted, “the only way to do this safely is to have a human in the mix. But, make no mistake, we don’t have an ‘OWASP’ for data science; machine learning’s track record in dealing with datasets with intentional manipulation is not great.”

Noting the “many challenges to having robots take on all the functionality that a human security guard would; at this stage of development,” Broomhead said, “most organizations should expect that the security robots will require significant human oversight.  What happens when one tips over?”

Instead of replacing humans, the question becomes how security robots and humans could work together “in an effective security strategy,” said Broomhead. “It should be thought of as augmenting the existing workforce, not replacing it.”

Broomhead also said “the timing of when to use security robots is another factor; in many applications, they are best used when humans are not present such as after hours in a workplace, or in warehouse or parking lot environments where there is limited human interactions.”

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Teri Robinson

From the time she was 10 years old and her father gave her an electric typewriter for Christmas, Teri Robinson knew she wanted to be a writer. What she didn’t know is how the path from graduate school at LSU, where she earned a Masters degree in Journalism, would lead her on a decades-long journey from her native Louisiana to Washington, D.C. and eventually to New York City where she established a thriving practice as a writer, editor, content specialist and consultant, covering cybersecurity, business and technology, finance, regulatory, policy and customer service, among other topics; contributed to a book on the first year of motherhood; penned award-winning screenplays; and filmed a series of short movies. Most recently, as the executive editor of SC Media, Teri helped transform a 30-year-old, well-respected brand into a digital powerhouse that delivers thought leadership, high-impact journalism and the most relevant, actionable information to an audience of cybersecurity professionals, policymakers and practitioners.

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