Two robots from Singapore will begin securing the perimeter of SAM Ministries’ downtown shelter starting next week.
Since the nonprofit, which offers housing and services for people experiencing homelessness, opened the shelter at a downtown San Antonio Holiday Inn in December 2023, it has contracted with Texas Veteran Security to patrol the site.
Across three shifts, 27 guards monitor the perimeter of the former hotel, at 318 W. Cesar E. Chávez Blvd. on the west side of down town, by foot and vehicle around the clock.
SAM Ministries needed more security guards because its capacity for unsheltered people has grown. “We went from a 52-room facility to a 200-room facility. Multiply everything by four, that includes security costs,” said Rex Brien, vice president of Emergency Services for SAM Ministries.
But now, the two new security robots will “save costs,” shelter and security officials say, by patrolling the outdoor perimeter 24/7. No guards are being laid off, Texas Veteran Security’s CEO Gerard Morales said, adding that the 70% of employees are veterans. Instead, the robots will enhance staff capabilities, by not adding more staff, he said.
Guards are going to be used inside to beef up security, instead of outside watch guards,” Morales said. “Instead of adding people, we’ll be able to view [surveillance] from the guard’s post at the front.”
“Deterrent is what we want from these robots,” he said.
SAM Ministries said the shelter needs the robots because of its location in a heavy foot traffic area. And with some approvals delaying construction on the exterior fence, according to the nonprofit, security needs to guard the perimeter to keep strangers from entering.
The “O-R3” robots, made by Singapore-based robotics maker OTSAW, are autonomous, outdoor surveillance robots that memorize their path, and therefore don’t need to be controlled remotely.
