--- description: Twitter tributes have flooded in for a Knightscope security robot that plunged wheel-over-nosecone into a fountain — and couldn't get up. title: Security Robot Drowns in Fountain to Internet's Amusement image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd249567c5494b41/6988d611ab6d775c326aeff3/gettyimages-688223544.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Crime-Fighting Security Robot Drowned in Mere Inches of Water, Much to the Internet's Amusement by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 18, 2017 8:22 AM CUT  People check out the Knightscope K5 security robot as it roams the Prudential Center in Boston on May 22, 2017. People check out the Knightscope K5 security robot as it roams the Prudential Center in Boston on May 22, 2017.Jessica Rinaldi—The Boston Globe/Getty Images by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 18, 2017 8:22 AM CUT Twitter tributes have flooded in for a state of the art security robot that plunged wheel-over-nosecone into a shallow fountain near Washington D.C. — and couldn’t get back up. The roving robot — a four-foot tall oblong affair developed by a silicon valley startup called Knightscope — was on its usual crime-fighting rounds when it clattered down a set of steps and into the water feature outside Georgetown’s Washington Harbour office and retail complex, the _Washington Post_ [reports](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/07/17/a-security-robot-fell-into-a-water-fountain-at-a-d-c-office-building-and-the-internet-went-wild/?utm%5Fterm=.0c897cc4ab38 "undefined"). Images of its helpless, partially submerged form prompted a torrent of Twitter jibes. “We were promised flying cars, instead we got suicidal robots,” wrote one Twitter user. > [](https://twitter.com/bilalfarooqui/status/887025375754166272) Others posted pictures of (human) maintenance workers lifting the robot from the pool. > [](https://twitter.com/SparkleOps/status/887038957262786560) > [](https://twitter.com/cmahar3/status/887046362176540672) Knightscope, which said it was investigating the incident, described the mishap an “an isolated event” and promised to deliver a new robot within the week, according to the _Post_. An office worker at the Georgetown complex said this one had only been on the job a few days before it met its watery demise. \[[_Washington Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/07/17/a-security-robot-fell-into-a-water-fountain-at-a-d-c-office-building-and-the-internet-went-wild/?utm%5Fterm=.0c897cc4ab38 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4862263/security-robot-fountain-knightscope-k5/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4862263/security-robot-fountain-knightscope-k5/"},"headline":"This Crime-Fighting Security Robot Drowned in Mere Inches of Water, Much to the Internet's Amusement","datePublished":"2017-07-18T08:22:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:45:28.097Z","description":"It had only been on the job a few days before it met its watery demise","url":"https://time.com/4862263/security-robot-fountain-knightscope-k5/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Technology","robots","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd249567c5494b41/6988d611ab6d775c326aeff3/gettyimages-688223544.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph Hincks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd249567c5494b41/6988d611ab6d775c326aeff3/gettyimages-688223544.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Knightscope K5 Security Robot At Prudential Center","caption":"Knightscope K5 Security Robot At Prudential Center","creditText":"Jessica Rinaldi—The Boston Globe/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4862263/security-robot-fountain-knightscope-k5/","name":"This Crime-Fighting Security Robot Drowned in Mere Inches of Water, Much to the Internet's Amusement"}}]}] ```