If sci-fi films are supposed to act as cautionary tales, then we haven’t been paying close enough attention. Researchers at Florida International University, along with members from the U.S. Navy Reserves, are working together to develop robotic law enforcement machines, or what you and I know are actually “RoboCops.” Plans are already in place to use the robotic police officers in Camden, New Jersey.

Referred to as “telepresence robots,” the state-of-the-art machines would be trusted with many of the same duties as regular policemen. They would be functional enough to write parking tickets, serve as a security force, and assumedly, eat donuts…

But they won’t be cyborgs, or sentient lugs of metal, like Robocop’s archnemesis, the ED-209. Instead they will be oversized remote controlled drones, operated by disabled cops and soldiers.

The question remains: how will these hunks of junk measure up to the real thing? Will they turn out to be little more than Segways with a badge? I know I wouldn’t want one giving me a pat-down, after all, we all know that robots have very cold fingers.

At $500,000 a pop, it would seem that it might be awhile before we have “RoboCops” patrolling the streets anywhere. And before they do we must ask ourselves: is it entirely a good thing to have  robots serving as Officer Friendly? Might there be a plot to further a totalitarian government by way of a fully mechanized police force? Only sci-fi films seem to have the answers.

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