The best members of the New York City Police Department are on ice.
After a trial run in 2023, the Nightscope K5 security robot, tasked with patrolling the transit system’s busiest subway stations, appears to be out of a job.
The NYPD confirmed that K5, who weighed 420 pounds and required a human attendant, was packaged.
“The NightScope K5 has completed pilot deployment on the New York City subway system,” a department spokesperson said Friday.
according to new york timesRoboCop was parked among a “pile of cardboard boxes” in a vacant store and was officially taken out of service.
At the time of its debut, Mayor Eric Adams said the robot would be tested and the city would determine its best use.
Security cameras already cover the majority of transportation in the borough, so why add more security cameras on wheels?
The president of the New York City Transit Authority said many of the station cameras are “hidden or inconspicuous to criminals. This is a reminder that technology is watching people.”
Officials have said K5 does not record audio or use facial recognition technology, but the robot’s arrival has galvanized transparency groups. Last summer, the Legal Aid Society called for an inquiry into the use of new technology by police authorities in connection with the Police Surveillance Technology Oversight Act.
“The Adams administration continues to be preoccupied with false claims of high-tech solutions to long-standing problems,” the legal group said in a statement following reports of K5’s retirement.