Robot patrols Atlanta neighborhood

ATLANTA, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- A downtown Atlanta bar owner has constructed a remote-controlled robot to patrol the neighborhood around his business late at night.

Rufus Terrill, proprietor of O'Terrills bar, built the machine out of an old meat smoker, a three-wheel scooter, an infrared camera, a water cannon and a loudspeaker, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Thursday.

Terrill said he got the idea for the remote-controlled vigilante after he became fed up with the drug dealers, thieves and vandals that he said frequent his neighborhood.

He said he sends his robot to patrol the area surrounding a nearby daycare center, and uses the attached loudspeaker to address loiterers.

"I tell them they are trespassing, it's private property, and they have to leave," he said. "They throw bottles and cans at it. That's when I shoot the water cannon. They just scatter like roaches."

He said the water cannon is set to low pressure so as not to cause injury to those in its path.

Police spokeswoman Lisa Keyes said the robot has not yet been the subject of any complaints, but she warned that Terrill could be charged with assault if he intentionally sprays someone with the machine's water cannon.