A robot will take care of security in New York

The New York Police Department is reintroducing the idea of patrolling with robots. In 2021, the department experimented with the Spot robot owned by Boston Dynamics, but the project was scrapped after public outcry from civil liberties groups. The idea is being reintroduced by the new New York mayor, Eric Adams, who was elected in 2022 and described himself several times as a "computer geek" during the announcement. Adams is a former chief of the NYPD (New York City Police) and ran on promises to focus his efforts on reducing crime.

Most police departments already have a portfolio of robots, but they're usually aimed at bomb disposal, not the day-to-day patrols envisioned in New York. Bomb disposal robots are usually just sophisticated remote-controlled cars – in this context, fairly 'dumb' remote-controlled devices that require one or more people to operate. New York, however, wants semi-autonomous robots that automatically patrol the streets. The mayor says: "If we are not prepared to advance and use technology to properly protect cities, then we cannot keep up with the crime wave."

The NYPD plans to use the Knightscope K5 robot for active patrolling. It is a 181 kg and 152 cm tall robot on wheels that resembles the cute robot R2-D2 from the Star Wars universe. The egg-shaped robot has no limbs and is mostly just a sphere with many sensors. It has a 360-degree camera system, thermal camera, LiDAR, sonar, GPS, 16 microphones and speakers to play pre-recorded or real-time messages.

It can automatically patrol an area, detect people, and recognize license plates and human faces, although the NYPD says facial recognition will not be used. As a wheeled robot, it can only access pre-defined areas. The K5 is billed as a “self-contained security robot” and was launched in 2014. K5 units have been in the news in the past for various incidents such as accidentally driving into a pond and the like. In New York, they will hire a robot for six months at a price of $9 an hour. The robot will have a human partner by its side, at least initially.