So what are the Daleks doing in Philadelphia?
Fans of the iconic science fiction program "Dr. Who" might have been a bit startled to see something that looks an awful lot like one of the show's most notorious villains buzzing around some Lowe's (LOW) parking lots recently.
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But not to worry. Those five-foot, 400-pound egg-shaped mechanical marvels are on our side.
They are K5 autonomous outdoor security robots made by Knightscope (KSCP) , a Mountain View, CA-based security tech company, and they are part of growing trend as the retail industry looks for news ways to beef up security.
Program in 'Test-and-Learn' Phase
"You need superhuman capabilities to fight crime," the company says on its website, which includes testimonials from police officials in Las Vegas and Huntington Park, CA.
Videos of the robots on the job have been turning up on social media.
"Do you see this security f*cking thing?” one woman asks in a TikTok video as she passes one of the robots. “What the f*ck is that thing? It’s making noise…like some f*cking weird thing.”
Scott Draher, vice president of asset protection and safety at Lowe's said in a statement that "safety is more than a priority at Lowe's — it's a core value for our company. To continue to drive safety in our stores, select locations are receiving a new security robot as part of a pilot project,"
Four Lowe’s stores, in South Philly, Northeast Philly, Port Richmond, and West Philadelphia, began testing the robots in February, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Others are being piloted in Washington state, North Carolina, California, and D.C.
The home improvement retailer said it is in "the test-and-learn phase" of the pilot and did not have results to share.
Nearly 50% of Knightscope's security robots currently deployed are used to secure parking lots or structures, the company said, as this is a common area for such crimes as trespassing, smash and grabs, vehicle theft, catalytic converter theft and vandalism.
'The Robots Are Here!'
The K5 comes equipped with 16 microphones and a range of sensors, including lidar and sonar, to detect anomalies and report them in real-time to Lowe’s central monitoring team.
The robots also have four wide-angle cameras which take 360 degrees of high-definition footage.
The K5 does not have facial recognition and "they are not intended to be offensive in their abilities,” Stacy Stephens, executive vice president and chief client officer at Knightscope, told the Inquirer, so you don't have to worry about cries of "Exterminate!" as you walk to your ride.
"We’re looking for known threats, people to whom you’ve issued criminal trespass warnings, terminated employees, or domestic abusers,” Stephens said.
Nevertheless, some people have dubbed the K5s “snitchBOT.”
Of course, with this robot and Ford's (F) patented plans for car that can be autonomously repossessed, some folks might be a little nervous about the brave new world.
But Knightscope chairman and CEO, William Santana Li sees real possibilities in artificial intelligence.
"The robots are not coming," he said in a March 10 blogpost. "They are already here! And I firmly believe they will help create millions and millions of new jobs and otherwise assist in making workers in their existing jobs much more productive, effective and safe."
"The humans are the ones that will end up becoming even more powerful," he added.
