MEMPHIS, Tenn. —
The Peabody Hotel purchased a K-5 security robot from Knightscope, Inc. in Dec. 2023.
There have been multiple burglaries, robberies and other violent crimes in downtown Memphis in 2023, including a string of burglaries in November.
The Memphis Police Department (MPD) launched a downtown crime safety plan in August 2023. But Memphians like Kendra Jackson are still on edge about the crime downtown.
"I don't trust my vehicle being down here. You have to double check, triple check to make sure you don't have any valuables in the car," said Jackson.
The Peabody recognized its need to keep the facility secure, and they are using a robot to help. Stacy Stephens, Executive Vice President of Knightscope, Inc., said the number one goal of the bot is crime deterrence.
"The number one use for the robot is actually deterrence. You have a very large robot. It's 5 ½ ft. tall, 3 ft. wide, weighs over 400 lbs. that is patrolling an area," said Stephens.
The robot also monitors its own health and can be updated remotely. The weather-proof robot has five sensors that map out the premises and report potential threats. It can even be programed to recognize license plates for vehicles used in other crimes or owned by potentially dangerous individuals.
"We do that through 360-degree video, two-way audio, license plate recognition, thermal imaging, people detections, signal and they patrol around completely autonomously looking for anomalies," said Stephens.
The potential solution is being met with some skepticism.
"Maybe they could report it. But, how quick would the actual police come if something actually happened around them? So, I don't know. I don't know how effective they would be,” said Jackson.
But Knightscope credits the K-5 for crime reports going down 46% and arrests going up 27% within the first year of use in Huntington Park, California.
"In a nutshell, wherever we deploy the robots, we've seen a significant reduction in crime,” said Stephens.
The Peabody was not available to interview, but said they purchased the robot this month. Knightscope said purchases are through subscription-based contracts that cost about $9 per hour.