HOUSTON — It’s security of the future at Houston Methodist Hospital. Meet roaming robots, Holmes and Watson.
They may look or sound nothing like the famous fictional detective and his ever devoted friend, but Holmes and Watson do help solve crimes.
"Hello, welcome to Houston Methodist. Please report any suspicious activity to the public safety department immediately," Holmes said.
“The main function is to patrol and be an extra eye to our security," Director of the Department of Public Safety, Elhadji Sarr said.
A first for Houston Methodist, Holmes and Watson give hospital security a mobile interactive view of what’s going on anywhere inside.
“They have 360 degree cameras, we can see everything Officer Watson sees," Sarr said.
They stroll up and down their assigned routes.
“They can make sounds. They can display messages. They can also say things that we want them to say to the public," Sarr said.
They can even give directions.
“We have to always be a step ahead, it will just allow us to see in more areas, we couldn’t necessarily see with our 1500+ cameras," Sarr said.
They’re smart and secure, but they’ll never replace the real deal.
“This is the way of the future. I just want to emphasize that this will never replace a security officer or a police officer, it’s not that intelligent," Sarr said.
And that's elementary, my dear Watson.