NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – The NYPD robot that patrolled the Times Square–42nd Street subway station in recent months has ended its tour and was spotted sitting in a vacant storefront Friday.
The NYPD confirmed that the Knightscope K5 completed its pilot deployment in the subway. Its future is now unclear.
The robot, which bears resemblance to R2-D2, started patrolling the station in September as part of a seven-month contract between the city and the robotics company Knightscope, first unveiled last April.
City Hall told the New York Times on Friday that the Adams administration is "constantly exploring innovative technologies" and is looking into K5's "next deployment."
The five-foot-tall, 400-pound security robot—packed with cameras and emblazoned with "NYPD"—patrolled the station overnights, though never alone; officers were required to escort it around.
Officials said during its September launch that K5 would take existing tech like cameras and "place it on wheels" to better patrol the transit system. The robot also featured a button subway riders could press to call for help.
The robot reportedly costs about $60,000 to $70,000 a year to run. The four-month pilot run cost the city $12,250, according to the Times.
K5, along with other police tech like the Digidog robot and the BolaWrap lasso, have proven controversial with privacy and civil rights advocates. Officials said K5 wouldn't record audio or use facial recognition and that any collected video would adhere to NYPD guidelines.
Shane Ferro, a staff attorney for the Digital Forensic Unit at The Legal Aid Society, reacted Friday to K5's retirement.
“The Adams’ Administration continues to be distracted by false claims of high-tech solutions to age-old issues," Ferro said. "The NYPD subway robot is an unnecessary expense and public gimmick that serves no legitimate safety purpose."
The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, said it also welcomed the end of the pilot.
"I said this was a trash can on wheels, but it looks like the wheels aren’t even working at this point," said Albert Fox Cahn, the executive director of S.T.O.P. "With major crimes down and the mayor mandating budget cuts across city agencies, why are we spending so much money on these gadgets?"