The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has employed the services of a futuristic security robot to patrol LaGuardia Airport, but all is not well.
The blue and white Knightscope K5, which brings to mind Star Wars’ R2-D2, is being rented for thousands of dollars a month, the New York Post reported.
Equipped with four cameras, microphones and sensors, the security bot is tasked with thwarting scammers and illegal cabdrivers who prey on tavelers, according to The Post.
But Robo-cop is creeping out women and the bad guys laugh at it.
“It’s upsetting to have that thing creep up on you,” said one female security guard at the airport. “It’s a pain in the ass. It keeps bothering people.”
The woman said she had just fended off the bot — effectively a competitor that does not require a high-dollar pension plan — with a luggage cart.
She also claimed male colleagues would hijack the bot to “get a better look” at her.
Kris Cabagnot, 31, suggested the Knightscope K5 bot ogled her after rolling up to within 10 inches of her.
“It was coming right up to me, and at first, I was like, ‘What the freak is that?’” she said.
A high-level security specialist at the airport told The Post the bots are “a waste of money.”
“They just laugh at it,” the source said of illegal cabbies. “They walk around the bot and take people into their cars.”
“They could have renovated three of our bathrooms for the same money,” they added. “We could have gotten some working sinks.”
An illicit cabdriver named Mohammad told The Post he “didn’t even notice it.”
Perhaps the robots can serve a dual purpose, a security monitor with a convenient pop-up sink for hand-washing?
LaGuardia Airport hired a security robot but it's either too creepy or too goofy to be effective. https://t.co/FRZwBlDavg pic.twitter.com/ihyaKbQRQM
— Ellen Wernecke (@neithernor) May 4, 2018
On a positive note, kids love it.
“It’s fun,” 6-year-old traveler Justice McNair told the paper. “I like how it moves and the color. It’s fun to play with.”
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
[email protected]
The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
