In the spotlight:
Robot company Knightscope is trying to change how we police.
Editor’s note: Here are five Bay Area startups worth watching this week.
When police officers are on patrol, there are only so many things they can carry on their waists: handcuffs, pepper spray, batons, radios, guns and extra ammunition.
But a security robot created by Knightscope, a Mountain View autonomous robot company, can handle much more within its 400-pound body — such as sensors, video cameras and thermal imaging.
“We very firmly believe that robots are today where the personal computer was in the ’80s,” said Stacy Stephens, vice president of marketing and sales. “And we are about to see a groundswell of applications where robots can be utilized in public spaces.”
As random shootings in places like schools, malls and movie theaters become more common, Knightscope, founded in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, is trying to change the way areas are policed. Its robots are used in spaces ranging from Microsoft’s Silicon Valley headquarters in Mountain View to the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Companies pay $5,110 a month for the robot and its software.
Stephens said there are 30 robots in use in 17 U.S. cities in hospitals, corporate campuses and airports. (Due to nondisclosure agreements, Stephens refused to say where the robots are.)
One robot in a mall recently assisted in solving a robbery, Stephens said, though he could not elaborate.
But a reason Knightscope is trending on Crunchbase this week is not a crime it solved, but rather one it endured: A drunken man recently attacked a robot outside the company’s headquarters. That incident drew coverage from as far afield as Hong Kong, New Zealand and Britain.
Although its shell is about as strong as a car’s, the drunken man managed to leave the robot with some minor scratches.
“It hurt the (robot’s) ego ... but I would much rather someone be harassing a robot than a human being,” Stephens said.
As autonomous technologies ranging from security systems to cars become more of a reality, investors have been betting big on this industry.
Knightscope employs 35 people and has raised $14 million. The company is raising another $20 million through SeedInvest, a crowdfunding website that is taking advantage of recent regulations that allow a broader set of people to invest in startups.
“It made more sense to go out and crowdfund because we believe everyone was tired of hearing the bad news on TV, and given the opportunity, they would jump on the fact that they could actually change the society,” Stephens said.