A straphanger takes a selfie with the K5 robot in Times Square.
Photo by Dean Moses
At 5 foot 3 inches tall and weighing about 400 pounds, K5 — the NYPD’s new Midtown patrol robot — resembles something from the Star Wars franchise or an old sci-fi flick. But the droid is not for cosplay or a prop.
K5 is currently stationed at the Times Square subway station, where at the stroke of every midnight, it automatically pushes off from its charging station and gets to work patrolling a small patch under the Crossroads of the World. Still under its trial phase, the machine is trailed by several cops while on its route.
Regardless of the overnight hours, K5 has commuters turning heads and furiously pawing at their pockets in a frantic attempt to pull out their phones and either video the robot as it makes its rounds on the graveyard shift, or to even take a selfie with it.
According to NYPD Lieutenant Burt Antoine, K5 has served as a conduit between the public and law-enforcement by being a talking point and an attraction which tourists and New Yorkers alike marvel at.
“It’s definitely been positive. A lot of people come up, they ask questions, they’re in a more jovial manner than compared to if it was nothing there and they have questions, and they’re curious. At the end of the day, it leads to conversation in a more positive route,” Antoine said.
The exact end of the trial period is unknown, yet it is believed that K5 will continue to be implemented once it concludes — albeit without its human escorts.
Although the public has had nearly two months to accustom themselves to the mechanical cop, many straphangers are still taken by surprise when it comes rolling down the mezzanine, occasionally announcing its presence in a long, humming voice.
“It reminds me of the movie Robocop. Now is the future,” said commuter Duwon Bryant, describing the first time he saw it. “I was in shock and awe. I was sort of overwhelmed.”
K5 is equipped with…
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