Sensorial telepresence is a fancy name for sending robots with sensors to remote places, generally to perform dangerous tasks. Last Saturday, one was used to negotiate with an armed 61-yo man holding a hostage, barricaded into a home.
There are no details about what were the motives of the standoff. The whole thing started after the police of Avon, Colorado, received a call at 4pm, reporting a man with a hostage, hiding in a barricaded house. After a few hours, and learning that the man had no hostages but fearing a potential shooting, the Jefferson County Bomb Squad send a robot only armed with cameras, microphone, and speakers. A negotiator at the other side was able to convince the man to stand down, and get out of the house without a single bullet being fired.
You can insert a punchline here, but this time I'm just happy that a potential tragedy ended well thanks to a bit of technology. [Post Independent via The Register]