Uncomplaining, Tireless Robots Seen as Ideal Guards : . . . But One Metal Crime Fighter Goes to Pieces

Hero, a robot who is supposed to scare off burglars by saying: “Warning, intruder! I have summoned the police!,” was caught sleeping on the job while his owners were on vacation and was stolen, according to police.

Tom and Priscilla Nelson left Hero, unprogrammed, in the basement of their home and went on vacation.

Unable to blurt his mechanical warning, Hero became the silent victim of a burglary, and was stolen along with a television set, video recorder and jewelry worth several thousand dollars.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Nelson said. “I never heard of a robot being stolen before. I kept wondering where the heck they were going to unload it.”

The police found Hero, about the size of a garbage can, partially disassembled, covered with dust and with dead batteries. They also recovered his instruction manual and electrical charger.

Arlington detective Ray Spivey joked that Hero “wouldn’t tell who did it.”

Nelson, a biomedical engineer, said he spent 250 hours and $1,500 creating Hero, who, in addition to issuing his warning to intruders, can repeat the phrases, “I am incapable of making a mistake; therefore, you must be wrong,” and “You are very attractive for a human.”

Nelson said he plans to add a mechanical arm and pincered hand so Hero can dial a phone and call the police if he’s threatened again.