Robot Reviews

Vigilantism isn't always something people are thankful about. Although Bum Bot chases away vagrants and lawless elements, some folks have expressed their apprehension to the creator's methods.

Built by ex-Marine Rufus Terrill, Bum Bot is crude but every time it shows up, vagrants promptly scamper away. Apparently, the combination of its rotating water cannon, infrared video camera that captures footages of everything within range, bright red lights, and intense spotlight is menacing enough.

The robot is also equipped with a loudspeaker through which Terrill barks off his warnings. He controls the machine via a remote which he himself programmed. 

Terrill's neighborhood is infested with drugs and the crimes that accompany them. As such, break-ins and robberies are commonplace. This has prompted Terrill to take matters into his own hands. He used to carry an assault rifle and went on patrol every night until he was ordered by the local police to put the weapon away. 

It was his wife who gave him the idea of constructing a robot and took him three months to construct and mount it on top of a three-wheel scooter. Encased in an armor of steel, plywood, and rubber gym mats, the robot has survived bricks and other handheld projectiles thrown at it. 

Despite its constant disruption to lawless activities in that neighborhood, some people are simply not comfortable with having a machine threaten members of its community - vagrants or not. Some folks are concerned he'll end up intimidating more people than actually helping solve the problem. In fact, neighborhood activists are threatening to launch protest actions.

Terrill, who plans to run for Atlanta mayor, is undeterred, even jokingly (I hope) claiming, "He'll be my chief of staff. He'll be parked in front of my office."

Well, whether we like it or not, robots are definitely making their way into the crime fighting business.