A new security guard has appeared at one of New York’s busiest subway stations — a 180 kg robot cop. The new robotic police officer was unveiled by Mayor Eric Adams. He says using innovative tools will make New York the safest city in America, and the K5 could play an important role in that effort.
RoboCop for patrolling the subway
The police robot is a product of California-based autonomous security robot maker Knightscope. It has four cameras for video recording and moves at a speed of 4.8 km/h.
As part of a city test, it will operate at the Times Square–42nd Street subway station, a major transfer hub, paired with a human officer for two weeks. After that, it will patrol the station’s passageways for two months.
City statistics show that crime has risen in almost every neighborhood compared with last year. Still, Mayor Adams has repeatedly said his crime-fighting campaign is working.
Adams says the robot will cost the city about $9 per hour — below the minimum wage. It will operate at Times Square from midnight to 6 a.m.
The K5 is one of several projects the city has launched to fulfill Adams’ promise to reduce crime. The robot debuted in April alongside a robotic police dog, which the department says will be used to navigate dangerous situations.
Adams says the K5 also has a license-plate reader. But it does not have real-time facial-recognition capability, which has raised concerns among privacy advocates. It also has a button that lets subway riders connect with a live person to ask questions or report an incident.
Not everything is as wonderful as it seems
During his campaign Adams promised to reduce the crime rate. He believes police robots can deter criminals in the city and help save lives.
However, as the Daily Mail reported, many New Yorkers don’t share the mayor’s optimism and are worried about deploying robots in the city’s concrete jungle. One resident said, “City residents want to fund libraries and schools, not expensive toys for the New York police.” Others called the robots “dystopian surveillance technology.”
