Tucked away in Albuquerque's north I-25 corridor, a family-owned business has started to assemble the surveillance and security product of the future, part by part.
About 1,350 parts to be exact.
Team 1st Technologies President and CEO Dave Dworsky said his company is ready to deploy and support an autonomous security officer on a subscription basis to clients. Over the last several months, Team 1st has been busy meeting with investors, shoring up supply chain lines and presenting to potential clients, he said.
Last December, Team 1st reached an agreement to become the exclusive North American distributor for an autonomous, AI-powered mobile security robot created by SMP Robotics. Now based in Sausalito, California, SMP Robotics started in Europe before moving to the U.S.
"Our worry is once people see this, demand will outweigh production," said Dworsky, who estimates the North American market to be in need of 450,000 robots.
That figure seems massive, but when you consider the level of camera-based surveillance and the number of private security personnel employed around the country it begins to feel much smaller. Or, as Andy Sanchez, Team 1st's channel partner manager, put it, one autonomous security officer can replace 100 cameras.
The market for potential clients ranges from Fortune 500 companies with massive campuses to police departments to school districts and universities. The industry sectors vary, however, these clients have a common need: to stay on top of changes and threats to their physical locations. That's where the Team 1st robot comes into the picture.
Or provides the picture rather.
But make no mistake, each of the autonomous security officers is more than a security camera. Truly, the mere presence of this 375-pound mobile surveillance command post serves as a deterrent all by itself.
The robots combine decision-making blueprints with the data it collects to learn how to respond to anomalies — people, objects or things — in its path that were not there before. It can perform obstacle avoidance autonomously.
However, if that anomaly displays a level of animosity, that's when the robot can escalate its response to the situation. Pre-recorded messages can be played based on the level of aggression or animosity as determined by the autonomous security officer. If the robot decided that the threat requires a higher level of response or human intervention, it can alert an operations center.
"About 90% of the robot's actions are it thinking on its own," said Dylon Rodriguez, who as the director of robotics engineering for Team 1st has assembled and programmed the autonomous security officers with features like the ability to assign observation points around a perimeter.
"There are only a handful of Dylons in the U.S.," Sanchez said.
Each autonomous security officer has onboard GPS and sensors to identify motion and sound. Its numerous cameras include a pan-tilt-zoom camera on the mast. They are equipped to identify objects, animals or people using panoramic video surveillance. The cameras also offer thermal detection, facial recognition capabilities up to 200 meters and vehicle detection capabilities of up to 800 meters.
The robots use industry-standard protocols and are made to fit into existing video monitoring systems that clients use.
Two onboard batteries provide 20 hours of uptime within a 24-hour period. When it's time to recharge, the robots maneuver to a charging station that can boost power from 40% to 80% in about an hour and 45 minutes.
All of this functionality is to achieve the goal of getting an appropriate level of response to a security threat minutes faster as opposed to seconds faster.
"I think for the longest time we have been trying to lock down schools, and spot threats outside of the campus, in order to have those seconds that count," said Sanchez, a native of Belen who focused on K through 12 education in the safety and security field for 20 years.
"Now, we have the ability to have perimeter robots out there to assess a situation, intervene and have two-way communication with an assailant and stop that threat much earlier," he continued. "If we can get a lockdown to occur a minute faster, then we have saved lives."
Pricing for that level of security is based on a subscription model. A three-year subscription will run about $9,995 for each month. That breaks down to about $15 an hour for round-the-clock surveillance.
Parts for 20 new autonomous security officers are being manufactured, and the company has lined up Fortune 100 clients for 10 of the 11 robots it has onsite, Sanchez said.
He declined to provide specifics due to signed non-disclosure agreements.
Team 1st also is "very close" to its first deployment in New Mexico and is in "advanced negotiations" with other clients, Sanchez said, again declining to provide specifics other than to say they include school districts and entertainment venues.
As for the 11th — affectionately known as 123-PO — Sanchez said it is essentially a co-worker and poised to become a social media and marketing star.
The company expects to have at least 15 employees by the end of 2022 if not more. Right now, it employs 11 people overall, a figure that includes three in Texas who are working on the autonomous security officer product.
One of those, Rob Salsman, the director of business and product development, found the opportunity to add robots to the company's portfolio and began talking with SMP Robotics last summer, Sanchez said.
"Rob approached SMP and presented the Team 1st approach to 'Robots As A Subscription' and really refined the message to the customer of what the SMP robot will do, and most importantly, we are not afraid to say what the [autonomous security officer] will not do," he continued.
Pointing out Salsman's initiative, Dworsky said it's not only an example of what Team 1st can accomplish when given the space and encouragement to excel. It demonstrates a philosophy that goes back to the company's start.
Dworsky came to New Mexico in 1996 via Southern California and New Jersey before that. After working for a construction and packaging supply company, where he designed and sold packaging line automation, Dworsky joined his wife Patricia, who had started Team 1st in 2007 to focus on audio and visual solutions. About six years later, the company changed its name to Team 1st Technologies.
Patricia Dworsky now serves as the company vice president and CFO, and the couple's son, Joshua, is the director of technology.
The family-led business has consistently grown, going from $3.5 million in invoiced sales in 2019 to $6.5 million in invoiced sales in 2021. With the addition of the line of security robots, Dave Dworsky estimates reaching $10 million in sales in 2022, if not more.
Dave Dworsky said the company will be manufacturing SMP's robots in the U.S. within three years. Right now, parts are sourced around the world by purchasing agents that SMP Robotics uses. The finished parts are assembled in New Mexico and tested in Albuquerque. Right now, Team 1st can assemble about 25 robots in a month, he said.
"Our lead times are 14 weeks, and we are selling everything we can make and more than we can make without investors," Dworsky said.
