PENN Entertainment is adding security to its retail casinos across the country, but not with people. The company is employing robot technology to its security team in a partnership with Knightscope.
While casinos have had to face cyberattacks in recent weeks (although, fortunately, those digital attacks didn’t affect West Virginia online casinos) PENN Entertainment is focusing on retail security at its lone retail West Virginia casino location.
The K5 Autonomous Security Robot (ASR) has some impressive capabilities.
Hollywood West Virginia Casino to deploy security robots
PENN Entertainment has locations all across the country. The company operates Hollywood Casino Charles Town in the Mountain State.
PENN most recently installed the first K5 ASRs in the M Resort Spa Casino in Nevada, Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs in Iowa and Hollywood Casino Aurora in Illinois.
The ASRs will greet guests with a friendly voice, while also providing another set of eyes and ears, in which the human security team can closely monitor. The robots also offer a two-way communication system to enhance the safety of visitors and workers.
Knightscope CEO, William Santana Li, said:
“PENN Entertainment’s commitment to safety and the guest experience is extraordinary. We are overjoyed that we will be providing Knightscope technologies across its portfolio to protect the surge of guests arriving and departing from all of its properties daily.”
Facts about the K5 ASR robot coming to West Virginia casinos
Knightscope offers a detailed description of what K5 ASRs look like, along with their capabilities.
These specific robots can be placed inside or outside, enduring the cold weather and long winters if need be. The K5s are approximately 5-foot-2, 33.5 inches in width and weigh 398 pounds. The robots can move, with a top speed of three miles per hour.
According to Knightscope’s website, here are some of its available capabilities:
Autonomous detection
- Force multiplying physical deterrence
- 360-degree, eye-level video streaming and recording in HD
- People detection during certain restricted hours
- Thermal anomaly detection
- Automatic signal detection (watchlist for approved, denied and unknown MAC addresses)
- License Plate Recognition (parking monitor and watchlist for approved and denied vehicles)
Weatherproof
- Operates 24/7/365 outdoors
- Robust, automotive-grade design
- Continues monitoring in adverse conditions
Ramp accessible
- Successfully patrols parking lots and structures
- Navigates multiple levels
Having eyes and ears across different parts of the casino, where Hollywood Casino Charles Town may not have had before, could ease patrons’ minds with an extra layer of security going forward.
