SANTA ANA, Calif. — It looks a bit like a small lawnmower, but instead of two handles, a single black pole protrudes from the device with a tablet-sized screen attached.
This robot may not be as talkative as the gold-clad C-3PO from “Star Wars,” but it can talk. This simple prototype, called CrossBot, doesn’t sing or play guitar like the robot from “Lost in Space,” but its human creator says it has powerful tools — the ability to keep children safe in crosswalks — and the potential to alleviate the Bay Area’s shortage of school crossing guards.
“It provides a 360-degree view of the environment,” said its inventor, Hovannes Kulhandjian, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Fresno State. “This is a very serious device; the chance of error has to be very low because we’re dealing with children.”
Kulhandjian, who also works with the Mineta Transportation Institute in San Jose, is working on a patent for his CrossBot.
It is equipped with sensors such as lidar, a microphone, radar, video camera capabilities, a speaker system and advanced algorithms. In a video demonstration, CrossBot crouches at the curb and then rolls onto the crosswalk when traffic is clear.
The robot rolls onto the crosswalk with its screen glowing red. When an approaching vehicle stops, the screen turns green, signaling to children waiting at the curb that it is safe to cross the street. The robot can also tell visually impaired people that it is safe to cross.
Kulhandjian said he came up with the idea of a robotic school crossing guard when he was taking his two young daughters to school in Fresno and saw teachers stepping in as school crossing guards when they had work to do preparing lessons.
Kulhandjian said he is confident his robot can help all children, including his own. The device has been tested on city streets and achieved over 90 percent accuracy in detecting vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.
But not all parents are convinced by the idea.
“I would be angry if a robot replaced our school crossing guards,” said Kelly Lathrop, a Lafayette parent, in an email. “School crossing guards know our kids and generally watch out, they are a highlight of the morning and afternoon. I wouldn’t trust a robot not to malfunction or not get hacked. We need real eyes at these intersections, big and small.”
Angela Roberts, a mother of two young daughters who attend Laurelwood Elementary School in Santa Clara, said she too is concerned about the robot’s reliability, but she too has observed high turnover among school crossing guards over the past three years.
In recent years, school districts in San Jose, Oakland, Los Altos, San Francisco and Pleasant Hill have reported shortages of school crossing guards. Many school crossing guards were laid off during the pandemic due to distance learning, and some never returned to work, reports show.
“On average, it seems like there’s a different crossing guard on duty every few months, if not weeks. And it’s not uncommon to have days where there’s no crossing guard at all,” Roberts said. “From my perspective, the challenge of hiring and retaining crossing guards is still significant due to the hours and pay. And while students and families have always been kind and appreciative of crossing guards, the demand for robot crossing guards could be a good solution.”
Although accidents, including car crashes involving pedestrians, are the second leading cause of death among children under 14, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pedestrians of all ages face dangers on the road.
The Governors Highway Safety Association, which tracks pedestrian deaths in the U.S., found that more than 7,500 pedestrians were killed by motorists in 2022, the latest year for which data was available, the highest number since 1981, the report said.
Today, robots are used in many different ways and for many different reasons. They transport goods in warehouses, load and unload trucks, bring parts to production lines, and even deliver packages and make coffee. Robots are used in railroad inspections and at airports to handle baggage, clean facilities, and assist with security checks.
According to Mordor Intelligence’s Robotics Industry Size & Share Analysis Report, the global robotics market is expected to reach $95.93 billion by 2029.
Kulhandjian said his robot is not designed to take jobs away from people, but the Bay Area’s years-long shortage of school crossing guards shows that may not be a problem. While Kulhandjian said he may be able to add other components to the robot, such as a large red stop sign, he believes the device could last a decade and cost a school district about $15,000 to $17,000 to purchase.
“CrossBot is designed to complement and enhance human efforts, rather than replace them,” Kulhandjian said. “Many areas may not have enough human school crossing guards available, particularly in regions without traffic lights or during times when staffing is scarce. CrossBot can fill these gaps and provide additional safety measures during critical times and in areas of high demand.”
