This isn’t some kind of prank, but seriously – a Lowes store in Charlotte just employed its first-ever security bot. Despite looking like R2D2, this bot is designed to fight crime and act as a shoplifting deterrent. It may also be the first in a new wave of bots and technology used to stop thieves which has become more prominent in recent years across America.

So, what does this bot actually do compared to a human security guard? According to the website, this model is called the Knightscope K5. This has a maximum speed of 3MPH and primarily uses roaming, CCTV, and license plate recognition to act as a deterrent.

This robot got a lot of laughs from locals, with one saying, “R2D2 reduced to a tool of capitalism” while another compared it to a Dalek from the popular TV series Doctor Who. Speaking of capitalism, you can’t imagine that one of these would be cheap either.

Others speculated exactly how useful it would be, considering it could possibly be blocked by a person (or even covered by tarp sold in Lowes!). However, the main point is probably to be used as a deterrent, and its CCTV features may prove pretty handy.

On a similar note, this does also bring about the debate of AI and automation, as this bot may have just put a security guard out of their job. Let’s just hope it doesn’t come with weapons and isn’t too advanced, otherwise we may be bowing down to our robot overlords quicker than we think!