--- title: Knightscope Autonomous Robot May Help Police Patrol Neighborhoods description: It looks like a cross between R2D2 and a Dalek, but it's really a new big idea in policing: Robotics in service of public safety. canonical: https://time.com/65021/robot-cop/ author: Lev Grossman article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-16T15:36:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:01:59.119Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Knightscope Police Bot Is Watching, Always Watching og:description: Seen by its makers "more R2D2 than RoboCop," the autonomous policing robot Knightscope K5 promises to patrol geo-fenced beats in hopes of reducing crime by 50 percent. og:url: https://time.com/65021/robot-cop/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25ba125b02da2d06/69868aef1eebf735423706df/k5-blur-kids_full.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Knightscope og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Knightscope Police Bot Is Watching, Always Watching twitter:description: Seen by its makers "more R2D2 than RoboCop," the autonomous policing robot Knightscope K5 promises to patrol geo-fenced beats in hopes of reducing crime by 50 percent. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25ba125b02da2d06/69868aef1eebf735423706df/k5-blur-kids_full.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The New Cop on the Beat May Be a Bot by [Lev Grossman](https://time.com/author/lev-grossman/) ## Lev Grossman Apr 16, 2014 3:36 PM UTC  Knightscope by [Lev Grossman](https://time.com/author/lev-grossman/) ## Lev Grossman Apr 16, 2014 3:36 PM UTC Have we as a species learned nothing from _Robocop_? A Silicon Valley company called [Knightscope](http://knightscope.com) is currently testing a prototype robot designed to detect and monitor criminal activity, much the way a police officer or a security guard would. The Knightscope K5 is a five-foot-tall autonomous robot (one presumes that its resemblance to a [Dalek](http://www.thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/dalek/) is merely coincidental) that roams around your neighborhood, observing and gathering data and trying to predict where and when criminal activity will occur. It carries no weaponry, but it has a pretty complete sensor package that includes thermal imaging, license plate reading and facial recognition. This takes public surveillance a step beyond stationary cameras, and the challenges to personal privacy are clear. The K5 could do a whole lot of good by deterring crime, especially in neighborhoods that lack the resources to field an adequate police presence. But where do you draw the line? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/65021/robot-cop/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/65021/robot-cop/"},"headline":"The New Cop on the Beat May Be a Bot","datePublished":"2014-04-16T15:36:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:01:59.119Z","description":"Knightscope K5 promises enhanced policing capabilities, courts controversy","url":"https://time.com/65021/robot-cop/","keywords":["Surveillance","Tech","Technology","police","robotics","Law Enforcement","big data","privacy","Silicon Valley"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25ba125b02da2d06/69868aef1eebf735423706df/k5-blur-kids_full.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lev Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lev-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25ba125b02da2d06/69868aef1eebf735423706df/k5-blur-kids_full.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Knightscope","caption":"Knightscope","creditText":"Knightscope","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":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/surveillance/","name":"Surveillance"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/65021/robot-cop/","name":"The New Cop on the Beat May Be a Bot"}}]}] ```