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Bar-Owner Uses 'Bum Bot' to Fight Crime, Considers Mayoral Run

by Caleb Johnson on August 18, 2009 at 02:25 PM


Like the citizens of most large cities around the U.S., folks in Atlanta, Georgia worry about crime. No one likes crime, of course, but controversy arises when people begin to discuss how to deal with the problem. After hearing one Atlanta business owner's idea, expect an avalanche of controversy in the Southern city.

A 57-year-old pub owner, environmental engineer, and potential mayoral candidate, Rufus Terrill told USA Today that his homemade 'Bum Bot' has made the area around his bar much safer, and could do the same for the rest of the city, too. The robot, powered by four car batteries, features a loudspeaker attached to a walkie talkie, allowing Terrill to warn any trespassers, wrongdoers, and vagrants gathered on the sidewalks. Terrill says that the three-wheeled, steel robot has deterred crime, and that he only wants to target criminals, not the general homeless population. (With the name 'Bum Bot'? Sure, Rufus. Sure.)

There are locals who say the remote-control water gun-equipped Bum Bot, which looks like a barbecue grill, could be used to harass Atlanta's homeless population without cause. Rosetta Watkins, who lives in a nearby homeless shelter, told USA Today that the Bum Bot would 'intimidate a lot of people.'

Conventional wisdom tells us that no publicity is bad publicity. It's hard to imagine a man that supports robot, vigilante justice becoming mayor of Atlanta. It could mean business for Terrill's pub, though. [From: Creative Loafing and USA Today]

Tags: atlanta, bum bot, BumBot, crime, diy, homeless, mayor, robot, security, top, weird

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