--- 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=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1700 og:image:height: 956 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=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The New Cop on the Beat May Be a Bot > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. 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. 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