San Antonio International Airport in Texas is set to deploy an autonomous security robot as part of upgrades to its security infrastructure.
Following a seven-to-three vote by the San Antonio city council, officials have signed off on a 12-month contract with Knightscope, a California-based developer of autonomous security technology, which will lease its K5 robot for US$21,000 (£16,600), according to a local news outlet.
The contract comes with four additional renewal options, which could see the contract extend across a five-year period.
Standing at five feet and four inches tall and weighing 420lbs, the K5 robot is equipped with autonomous recharging capabilities to eliminate the need for human intervention.
Its maximum speed is three miles per hour, with other functions including 360-degree and eye-level video streaming, thermal anomaly detection, people detection during certain hours and license plate recognition.
Set for deployment in the next two months, the K5 will be used to respond to door alarms triggered at the airport.
“Daily, we have door alarms that are opened inappropriately, inaccurately or by accident, and it requires a response, based on the federal regulations that we have to adhere to, to maintain an overall security posture of the airport,” said Jesus Saenz, San Antonio’s director for airports, the San Antonio Report reported.
Upon activation, the K5 will capture images of individuals triggering alarms and transmit the data to the airport’s command centre for assessment. Saenz emphasised that the robot’s purpose is solely to address security breaches and not for general surveillance and that the robot will only be used in a secure, non-public indoor areas.
However, some council members expressed reservations about the deployment. Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, a representative for San Antonio’s second district, expressed concerns about potential surveillance capabilities inherent in the robot’s data collection functions.
Teri Castillo, representing the fifth district, raised the issue of potential human job displacement, to which Saenz affirmed that it would simply complement existing security measures.
The K5’s deployment at San Antonio International Airport follows its previous use by the New York City Police Department in patrolling Times Square’s subway station, with this pilot ending earlier this month [February 2024].
A spokesperson for New York mayor Eric Adams stated that the administration is exploring options for the robot’s next deployment, reflecting ongoing efforts to integrate new technologies within urban security frameworks.
