San Francisco shelter for homeless animals sics K5 robot on homeless people

Knightscope’s robot security guards are mired in controversy again, this time after the San Francisco SPCA (the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) deployed a unit to try to deter homeless people from camping in tents on its property.

Unable to deal with the growing number of “needles, car break-ins and crime” surrounding its establishment, the San Francisco SPCA enlisted a K5 unit from Knightscope – a machine that has been in the news before, and for all the wrong reasons.

Last year, one unit ran over a toddler in a mall, and this year another went for a dunk in a public fountain.

The K5 is an autonomous robot that can be programmed to serve as anything from delivery boy to security guard thanks to an array of sensors and cameras, voice capabilities and wireless communication technology.

However, the K5 hasn’t exactly earned widespread public respect.

As reported by The Verge, some San Francisco residents, upset by the SPCA’s initiative, vented on Twitter.

Leslie Lee III tweeted, “Dear San Francisco, It is your duty to destroy these things if you see them.”

“Capitalism: instead of providing homes for homeless people, spend exorbitant sums of money creating robots that will prevent homeless people from making homes for themselves,” opined a journalist.

Within about a week of the SPCA deploying the robot, people setting up a camp in the area “put a tarp over it, knocked it over and put barbecue sauce on all the sensors,” Jennifer Scarlett, the S.F. SPCA’s president, told the San Francisco Business Times.

And the City of San Francisco says it will fine the SPCA $1,000 for every day that the K5 roams its sidewalks, as it is acting outside state regulations.

Scarlett says she gets it.

“I can understand being scared about a new technology on the street, and we should be asking questions about it, but we should probably be a little bit angry that a nonprofit has to spend so much on security at the same time,” she said, adding that the SPCA is entitled to seek a resolution to “the complicated issues around homelessness.”

K5 creators Nightscope had this to say, for their part:

“Contrary to sensationalized reports, Knightscope was not brought in to clear the area around the SF SPCA of homeless individuals,” a spokesperson told The Verge. “Knightscope was deployed, however, to serve and protect the SPCA. The SCPA has the right to protect its property, employees and visitors, and Knightscope is dedicated to helping them achieve this goal. The SPCA has reported fewer car break-ins and overall improved safety and quality of the surrounding area.”

Knightscope is reportedly pursuing an agreement with the city to operate in the public right-of-way in San Francisco.