Knightscope · military or security robot
K5
A bullet-shaped outdoor security robot about 1.6 m tall that patrols car parks, malls and campuses, recording video and reading licence plates.
- Price
- —NYPD subway pilot leased at US$9 per hour (NYC Mayor's Office, September 2023).
- Height
- 159 cmTaller than 80%
- Weight
- 180.5 kgHeavier than 31%
- Payload
- —Not published
- Speed
- 4.8 km/hFaster than 10%
- Battery
- —Not published
Not sure this is the one? Find the best robot for your job Starts with: patrol and inspect. Five more quick questions.
Why it matters
K5 is on the market today.
Real-world use
NYPD trialled a K5 in the Times Square subway station in 2023; the pilot had ended by early 2024.
Maker
KnightscopeCompany · founded 2013 · Mountain View, California, USACrowdfunded; Nasdaq-listed (KSCP) since January 2022
How it stacks up
Against other military & security that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
K5 is taller than 80% of the 10 other military & security that publish a height. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
K5 is heavier than 31% of the 35 other military & security that publish a weight. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
K5 is faster than 10% of the 31 other military & security that publish a speed. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: payload, joints, battery, price.
Public attention
How much public attention K5 gets, from open data.
- No Wikipedia article of its own yet
- 2 news stories from reputable press listed on this page
- 1 reported deployment
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
The parts the company has talked about publicly.
- Movement
- Wheeled base
- How it runs
- Fully autonomous. It patrols set areas by itself, while security staff watch its alerts and video remotely.
- Sensors & vision
- Video cameras, thermal imaging, laser range finder, radar, air-quality sensors and a wireless signal detector
- Battery & power
- Patrols and recharges autonomously
- Other details
- About 1.5 m tall; patrols at 1-3 mph
Lineage
Every Knightscope machine in order.
Made, sold and where
Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.
- Price
- Not publishedNYPD subway pilot leased at US$9 per hour (NYC Mayor's Office, September 2023).
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
- Sold or delivered
- Rented as a service (about $7 per hour)
- Customers and pilots
- Clients have included Microsoft, Uber, Juniper Networks, the Sacramento Kings, NBC Universal, LaGuardia Airport and Pechanga Resort Casino; NYPD subway pilot 2023
Where it works
1 reported deployment.
- Trial ended
New York City Police Department · Times Square subway station · New York · since 2023-09 · 1 units
The NYPD trialled a leased K5 security robot in the Times Square subway station; the pilot ended by February 2024. Leased ABC7 New York
News
The latest 2, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.
- NYPD ends K5 subway trial
The NYPD's leased K5 finished its test run at the Times Square subway station and was taken out of use.
ABC7 New York - Knightscope begins trading publicly on NASDAQ
Knightscope announced that its common stock would begin Nasdaq trading on January 27, 2022 under the ticker KSCP.
Knightscope press release via Security Info Watch
Side by side with its peers
Picked by the same rules for every robot: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. Few robots match closely, so these are the nearest matches. How we choose
| Measure | K5Knightscope |  S5 security robotSMP RoboticsSame job: surveillance · Both on wheels · Both on sale or in pilots |  Mission Master SPRheinmetall Canada (Rheinmetall Group)Same job: surveillance · Both on wheels · Both on sale or in pilots |  O-R3OTSAWSame job: surveillance · Both on wheels · Both on sale or in pilots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First shown | 2015-05-04 | 2016 | 2018-06 | 2019 |
| Status | Commercial | Commercial | Commercial | Commercial |
| Height | 159 cm | — | — | — |
| Weight | 180.5 kg | — | — | — |
| Joints | — | — | — | — |
| Speed | 4.8 km/h | — | — | — |
| Payload | — | — | 600 kg | — |
| Battery | — | — | — | — |
| Price | — | — | — | — |
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
Photos and logos only identify each robot and its maker. Simbeing is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsing any company, and nothing here is advertising. Figures are for statistics only and are not advice of any kind. Terms of use