Robot security guards are set to become a whole lot more prevalent after Silicon Valley-based Knightscope received its largest amount of funding yet and began taking pre-orders.

The company, which is one of the leaders in the field with its R2-D2-like security robots, raised $5.2m in its Series A funding round, and attracted considerably more interest than it initially had expected.

In a release, the company said that the money will enable it to “accelerate deployments in Silicon Valley as well as aggressively continue technology development”.

The company is now taking pre-orders for its K5 model, which will be provided to companies on a rental basis at a rate of $6.25 per hour, a price that is designed to make the robots highly competitive with human workers.

From 2015, K5s will be loaned to companies on one, two or three-year terms, and will be on duty 24/7 during these periods.

Knightscope’s highly competitive business model and its full-service approach have generated a lot of interest, and are likely to result in considerable business.

This is likely to be the reason that its funding round – where it sought a set amount of money from prospective investors – was oversubscribed, meaning more companies wanted to invest in the company than was possible.

In the end the successful investors were Japanese telecoms giant NTT Docomo, electronic design and fabrications company Flextronics and Japanese tech giants Konica Minolta.

Konica Minolta vice president Ekta Sahasi explained why the company chose to invest in the robot security company.

“We are extremely impressed with Knightscope’s vision and the team’s dedication to providing an all-inclusive service to its customers,” he said.

“Knightscope’s security solution utilizes some of today’s hottest technologies in Silicon Valley – autonomous technology, robotics, big data, predictive analytics, sensors and social engagement – and we are delighted to help Knightscope define the next generation of public safety where technology is embraced for the betterment of society.”

Knightscope’s robots are fully autonomous, and are equipped with an array of sensors to allow them to patrol public places, corporate campuses, data centres and shopping malls.

While the prospect of a robot security guard may seem strange, the company believes it is only a matter of time before the technology feels commonplace.

“The financial and strategic support of these global leaders will provide Knightscope an extraordinary opportunity to commercialize our disruptive crime prevention technology,” said William Santana Li, chairman and chief executive officer of Knightscope.

“As important as our smartphones are to our lives today, we will wonder in the future how we ever lived without these machines in our communities helping keep our families safe, our neighborhoods vibrant and our businesses thriving.”

Images courtesy of Knightscope.