Security Robot Knocks Over Child at Silicon Valley Mall

Posted on July 18, 2016

A child was reportedly knocked over and slightly injured by a security robot at the Stanford Shopping Center in Silicon Valley last week. It is the first report of its kind.

A company named Knightscope makes security robots like the one pictured above. The largest of the robots, the K5, weighs 300 lbs and stands 5 feet tall. Knightscope says its robots act as force multipliers and data gatherers. The can alert security of potential crimes and problems. The autonomous robots are designed to navigate safely around people and objects.

Knightscope vice president of marketing and sales Stacy Dean Stephens told CNN/Money, "Hearing a report that one of our machines may have injured someone is absolutely horrifying. Our core mission is to ensure public safety, and we are taking this report very seriously."

Knightscope may need to retest its robots to see how they behave around very small children that could be attracted to the security robots. The parents of the boy noted that there was no sign around the robot saying, "Go away, do no touch."

A recent study in Japan found that children harass mall robots. Robots placed in public areas like malls will have to act perfectly all the time in order to avoid incidents. Children will no doubt constantly accost the robots that resemble cute Star Wars droids.

CNN/Money says the child suffered only a scrape from his incident with the security robot. Take a look:

ROBOTS