The New York Police Department is introducing a new security measure at the Times Square subway station, deploying security robots to maintain security.
The K5 security robot weighs about 190 kilograms. The manufacturer Knightscope equips it with four cameras that can record video but not audio, and it doesn't come with arms.
In a pilot, security robots will patrol the station from midnight to 6 a.m. over the next two months.
K5 will not be doing full patrols for a while as he spends the first two weeks mapping the station and walking key areas. It is unclear whether the security robot is transmitting camera images in real time and whether law enforcement is monitoring what it captures.
New York Mayor Eric Adams said: “Robots record video clips so they can be watched in case of emergency or crime.” “The city is seeking to use this technology amid reductions in its law enforcement workforce.”
The robot will not use facial recognition technology as there are many concerns about integrating this technology into robots.
The K5 robot cannot respond to actual emergencies within the station and cannot physically or verbally detain suspects. The only help it can provide to people in real time is to connect them with people to report incidents or ask questions.
For the next two months, New York City will rent the K5 robot for about $9 an hour. The city's mayor seems confident that this amount will be sufficient for the robot's capabilities, although he has already ordered several authorities to reduce their spending by 15%.
Adams has long been a proponent of using the machines as police tools, and announced earlier this year that the New York Police Department would purchase two Digidog robots for $750,000 each for use in arrests, hostage operations and other critical situations.
Using drones and robotic dogs, the New York Police Department now relies on robots to patrol subway stations.
This is in stark contrast to the NYPD's decision in 2021 to cancel the lease of the robot then called Boston Dynamics Spot after the company faced backlash over its use.