A Security Robot Tested in Le Havre Shows Promising Results Against Supermarket Theft

The goal is to reduce in-store theft. And according to initial observations, this initiative has already led to a 30% reduction in malicious acts.

A robot in the security control department

Capable of moving autonomously, Windy, a security robot from Mégatech Sécurité, a security and surveillance company in the Le Havre region, patrols the shelves looking for suspicious activities and movements.

The latter can move alone but also be remotely controlled by a security agent. The idea came to its creator during confinement when some of his employees did not want to work for fear of being contaminated, he told local media France 3 “a lot of agents let me go during covid, they feared being contaminated because of the clients”.

To be effective, the robot positions itself in strategic areas of the supermarket where thefts are most frequent, such as the alcohol aisle for example. The director of the Carrefour market in Le Havre, who tested the robot, told BFM “we have security guards, but they cannot be everywhere. Thanks to this robot, we are seeing a reduction in thefts, even if it is still too recent to have definitive figures.”

An effective deterrent

Windy is not just a technological gadget. Indeed, the latter really helps security agents in their missions, thanks to it, they can monitor several areas at the same time thanks to its cameras. Still very uncommon, the director of Carrefour Market in Le Havre reports that “customers sometimes see it as a distraction, but they don't always realize that there is a person behind it monitoring in real time”.

When suspicious behavior is detected, the new security guard can quickly alert his colleagues on site to intervene. This reactivity seems so far to play an important role in reducing thefts.

Reinforced and dissuasive security

For now, the results are good, the simple presence of Windy has a significant deterrent effect. Customers know they are being monitored, which limits theft attempts. In addition, Windy is equipped to defend itself, the latter triggers an alarm if it is jostled, in addition to being autonomous for twelve hours, it can go anywhere, the inventor explains that the robot “doesn't know the blind spots, he goes to the aisles where there are a lot of thefts”.

Thanks to this constant monitoring and the rapid intervention capacity of agents, Le Havre supermarkets have noted a significant reduction in thefts, an estimated drop of 30%.

Sources : France 3, BFM, Paris-Normandy

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