Photo credit: Knightscope

A few months ago, the LaGuardia airport directors thought to have found the perfect device to deal with scammers and illegal cabdrivers plaguing the overcrowded parking lot and giving the smallest of all New York airports a bad reputation: a security guard robot.

They were sold something that would resemble Terminator’s T-1000 or even Robocop. Instead they got WALL-E or Bender from Futurama.

A LaGuardia spokesman stated: “The concept is in the testing phase right now, patrolling the arrivals level.”

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“Capabilities include video surveillance; the ability to broadcast recorded and live messages in the event of an incident; and the ability to ensure it avoids people and objects in its path.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Caption on photo : "Kris Cabagnot reacts as the Knightscope K5 security bot leers at her." LOL…a robot can now 'leer'. What a robperv. <a href="https://t.co/ID16gb28u2">https://t.co/ID16gb28u2</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/nypmetro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nypmetro</a></p>— MacKenzie L. (@run_mac_run) <a href="https://twitter.com/run_mac_run/status/992227193492262913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">4 May 2018</a></blockquote>

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The device, called the Knightscope K5, became famous when one of its Georgetown Waterfront Mall robots drowned itself in a fountain in an apparent accident which was mocked worldwide, seems to freak out women waiting outside.

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A female security guard at the airport, who is costing a bit more than that $5 per hour it takes to rent the robot, states her unhappiness: “It’s upsetting to have that thing creep up on you. It’s a pain in the ass. It keeps bothering people.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/surveillance?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#surveillance</a> capabilities of a single <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Knightscope?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Knightscope</a> K5 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/robot?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#robot</a> are staggering: 360-degree livestreaming video, license plate recognition, thermal imaging, object detection, signal detection to locate all nearby cellphones and smart devices,… <a href="https://t.co/h6mw6ZMvf9">https://t.co/h6mw6ZMvf9</a></p>— Wolf of Coin Street on steroids ^^ (@BNF75) <a href="https://twitter.com/BNF75/status/989637443941957632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">26 April 2018</a></blockquote>

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31-year-old passenger Ms Kris Cabagnot said she also didn’t get what it was needed for: “It was coming right up to me, and at first, I was like, ‘What the freak is that?’ ”

Source:

https://nypost.com/2018/05/03/laguardia-airports-security-robot-is-giving-women-the-creeps/