Knightscope robot
MOUNTAIN VIEW — In a bizarre turn of events, the company Knightscope — most famous for its rotating nose coned robots — was accosted by a drunk onlooker who seemingly didn’t approve of having the robots patrolling outside its own headquarters.
According to Mountain View Police, “On April 19 around 8:15 pm, we responded to Knightscope, located on the 1000 block of Terra Bella Avenue, for reports of a prowler in the area.” As MPD officers arrived, an employee at Knighscope had detained 41-year-old Mountain View resident Jason Sylvain for pushing over one of their robots during a routine check and upgrade of their security. Sylvain was arrested for prowling and for being drunk in public.
According to the employee, Sylvain had reportedly knocked over one of the security robots that was patrolling the company’s front parking lot. The robot only suffered minor surface damage, but the confrontation took them by surprise as to why Sylvain would attack their robot.
Stacy Dean Stephens, vice president of marketing and sales said, “Yes, someone did knock over one of the robots at our headquarters in Mountain View. The robot did exactly as it was supposed to do – the “assault” was detected and immediately reported, the alarms on the robot sounded, the suspect attempted to flee the scene and was detained by one of my colleagues and me until the Mountain View Police arrived.”
“We are incredibly proud of the outcome and believe this to be a true testament to the technology we developed here in Silicon Valley,” Stephens said. “We are equally happy to report that the robot has recuperated from his injuries and is back on patrol keeping our office and employees safe again.”
