The New York Police Department is returning to the idea of policing the city with the help of robots. The department experimented with Boston Dynamics’ Spot in 2021 and closed the project after public outcry from civil liberties groups. The idea is being brought back by new New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was elected in 2022 and repeatedly referred to himself as a “geek”during the announcement. Adams is a former NYPD captain who has been a pro-crime leader.
Most police departments already have an arsenal of robots, but they tend to be dedicated to bomb disposal rather than the day-to-day patrols that New York City provides. Bomb-disposal robots are usually just fancy radio-controlled cars – completely “stupid”remote-controlled devices that have no automation at all and require one or more people to operate. New York wants semi-autonomous robots to patrol the streets. Adams says, “If we weren’t willing to move forward and use technology to keep cities safe, then you wouldn’t be able to keep up with those who are doing harmful things.”
For active patrol work, the NYPD plans to use one Knightscope K5 robot. It’s a 400 pound, 5 foot tall wheeled robot that looks like a real R2D2 giant. The egg-shaped robot has no appendages and is just a ball of sensors. It has a 360-degree camera system, thermal imaging camera, LiDAR, sonar, GPS, 16 microphones and speakers for playback of pre-recorded or live messages. It can autonomously patrol an area, detect people, recognize license plates, and recognize faces, although the NYPD says facial recognition will not be used. As a wheeled robot, it can only access ADA-compliant areas through ramps.
The K5 is marketed as an “autonomous security robot”and was introduced in 2014. K5 devices made the news for various incidents such as hitting a pond or hitting children. New York rents the robot for six months at $9 an hour. NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said the robot will be deployed in July as a “pilot”program and patrol Times Square or a subway station. The robot will have a human partner.
The other plan for RoboCop is the same as last time: using Boston Dynamics’ “Spot”robot dog, which the NYPD has named “Digidog”. Spot is a $75,000 robot (not including attachments) that can autonomously patrol its intended course, follow a person, and go up and down steps. The robot is designed for industrial remote monitoring and inspection, so it also has many remote control and recording capabilities. The Spot has several additional payloads: in 2021, the NYPD equipped it with a Spot Cam+, which features a 30x optical zoom pan/tilt/zoom camera and a second 360-degree camera. Pictured during this latest announcement (pictured above), Spot is equipped with a Spot Cam + IR camera. ‘, which adds a thermal camera and two-way audio, as well as a Spot Arm attachment that can open doors and manipulate other objects. For now, the NYPD plans to deploy two Spot robots.
Spot is not yet engaged in autonomous patrolling. The NYPD says it will be used for “high-risk”incidents such as hostage situations and checking hazardous materials, so basically the job is like a robot bomber. The NYPD buys two Spot robot dogs.
As in the past, various progressive groups are calling the move a terrible waste of money. One group, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP), said, “Wasting public dollars to invade the privacy of New Yorkers is a dangerous police stunt”and added that New York should “invest in real people, not robots.”Adams brushed them aside, citing the concerns of a vocal minority, and said “today is just the beginning”of how the city embraces new police technology.