Commuters making their way through New York City’s bustling midtown subway stations will now do so without a roughly 400-pound autonomous robot lurking nearby. After a nearly six-month long trial, the New York Police Department is ending its use of an eye-catching “K5” mobile surveillance robot once heralded by city officials as a high-tech, lower labor cost solution to deter crime. Many New Yorkers and privacy advocates poked fun at the odd, egg-shaped robot, which some said seemed like more of an expensive, eye-grabbing gimmick than a meaningful security investment. The K5 may be gone for now, though city officials haven’t ruled out redeploying the K5 in the future.
A spokesperson for New York’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information told PopSci that the controversial robot manufactured by the firm Knightscope had “completed its pilot deployment in the NYC subway system.” As of last week, there was no longer deployed in transit. A reporter at The New York Times spotted the robot parked, all alone, in a vacant storefront. A separate New York Daily News report citing a spokesperson from mayor Eric Adams’ administration revealed the robot has actually been sitting in storage since early December.
The NYPD’s Knightscope K5 robot debuted last April in Times Square amid fanfare from Mayor Eric Adams. He hoped it would help bring safety and order to the subways alongside officers.
It ended its brief tour exiled to a vacant storefront, all alone. https://t.co/BihSGqlCan pic.twitter.com/PzOSVkkmAg
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 2, 2024
Why the NYPD used the robot
Knightscope describes its K5 as a “fully autonomous” security robot outfitted with four cameras capable of recording video but not audio. The robot can reach a maximum speed of 3 miles per hour and has a 360 degree range of motion. It cannot walk up stairs. Hospitals, warehouses, malls, and other private businesses have turned to the K5 in recent…
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