San Antonio's airport has signed a contract with Knightscope.
Image credit: Knightscope
The future where we don't have to talk to people at airports is coming closer. Well, sort of. San Antonio international airport has signed a year-long contract with robotics company Knightscope to bring its K5 robot to the airport's doors.
Literally: the 420lb fellow will be stationed near doors and respond to alarms. It will take a photo of the person who triggered the alarm and relay the information to the command center so human staff can check if the individual is allowed access.
"Daily, we have door alarms that are opened inappropriately, inaccurately or by accident, and it requires a response, based on the federal regulations that we have to adhere to, to maintain an overall security posture of the airport," said San Antonio's director of airports, Jesus Saenz (via The Guardian).
The robot has been rented for $21,000 and it won't be used for surveillance. Some members of the San Antonio city council don't agree with the decision to employ a robot, fearing it would replace a human worker. However, Saenz said that it would not and would just "supplement our overall security posture."
If you want to see more of the robot's adventures, read about it drowning in a fountain or running over a toddler. Hopefully, it won't cause any drama monitoring doors.
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