War-Beetle

At its release, the HM-03 War-Beetle was not a comercial success. With a large price tag for a limited use robot, HM-03's only major purchaser was the UK police force. However, in the post-plague world, the War-Beetle has done much better.

History
While the HM-04 was a robot designed to operate in isolation, with a focus on acuracy and stealth, the War-Beetle was designed as a beefier version of the Cricket.

In the earlier design stages, the HM-03 was smaller and lighter, more like its predecessor. However, it was eventually redesigned into the bulkier and slower robot that it is.

Released in Feburary 2014, the War-Beetle, as its name suggests was marketed as hardened variant of the Cricket, though this was far from the truth. While powerful, the War-Beetle's features were greatly exaggerated in documentation. Its prohibitive price was its ultimate downfall. Costing far more than the Cricket and not being as all purpose, the HM-03 did so poorly that it was discontinued after only a year on the market.

Features
Despite its poor sales, the HM-03 had a suite of features that, had it been more affordable, might have made it a best seller.

Its most interesting feature was its facial recognition and tracking software that allowed it to not only indentify strangers by name, but more impressively to estimate their emotions and make judgement calls. If a person was angry or threatening, the robot would detect this and be able to take action.

Similar to the Cricket, the War-Beetle made use of a variety of weapons. Aside from the zip-wires and 9mm gun, it could also fire paintballs, to mark its targets. The War-Beetle was built as an anti-riot machine. It was near impervious to melee attacks and didn't have qualms about pushing back rowdy citizens. Its three toes, were made of an electrical rubber material that gripped the ground hard, and held fast. In worst case scenarios the War-Beetle could dispense tear gas, pepper spray and even fire bean bags. The bean bags could be replaced with nets.