A security robot hit a toddler at a California mall last week, reportedly, and now the Palo Alto shopping center has taken all of the crime-deterring devices off line.
The 300-pound K5 beta prototype was roaming Stanford Shopping Center on July 7 when it collided with 16-month-old Harwin Cheng, his mother Tiffany Teng told San Jose's
KGO-TV.
"The robot hit my son's head and he fell down facing down on the floor and the robot did not stop and it kept moving forward," Teng told KGO-TV, adding the machine then ran over his foot, causing it to swell.
"He was crying like crazy and he never cries. He seldom cries," Teng said.
Stanford Shopping Center introduced the 5-foot-tall robot last year. It is made by Knightscope, based in Mountain View, California. Mall officials told the
San Jose Mercury News on Tuesday that they were suspending its use.
"We are investigating this incident thoroughly, and the K5 units have been docked until the investigation is complete," said a mall statement.
Stacy D. Stephens, vice president of marketing and sales for Knightscope, told the tech website
Gizmodo that the report was being taken seriously.
"Hearing a report that one of our machines may have injured someone is absolutely horrifying," Stephens told Gizmodo. "Many of our team members are parents and understand the importance of protecting our children at all costs."
"To date, Knightscope machines have run for more than 35,000 hours and traveled over 25,000 miles, and this is the first report of any such incident. Similar to every other technology company in Silicon Valley, Knightscope strives to make improvements on a daily basis."
Gizmodo said the K5 used at the Stanford Shopping Center is a fully autonomous robot that is used to deter and detect crime. The robot comes with a video camera, thermal imaging sensors, a laser range finder, radar, air quality sensors, and a microphone.
The Mercury News said the K5 has also operated at California venues like Qualcomm in San Diego and Northland Controls in Fremont.
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