- Tech start-up pioneer Knightscope is becoming known for its artificial intelligence-enhanced robot sentries that are capable of performing many security functions while reducing the risk of human error and human exposure to danger
- The company’s production models range from stationary, indoor machines to mobile, outdoor machines equipped with a range of technological features including 360-degree eye-level HD streaming video, face and license plate recognition, and infrared thermal detection
- These automated security sentries can provide crime deterrence in a non-violent, non-threatening manner as agencies adapt to community concerns about law enforcement’s evolving roles
- While Knightscope is not listed on a public exchange, its shares are available for purchase through its Reg A+ offering and the company continues working toward a public stock listing, according to a recent blog post
In 1968, science fiction author Phillip K. Dick wrote a novel about a society 50 years in the future in which police used artificial intelligence, video calls, voice-activated personal assistants, and flying cars. Now, a year beyond the 2019 society of “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” and its film counterpart “Blade Runner,” many of those technologies have found a real expression in modern-day police work. Visionaries are anticipating further technological transformations as rapidly changing innovations in communication and data storage define our daily life, as noted in a pre-pandemic Deloitte analysis of the security industry (https://ibn.fm/kxUFa).
Autonomous security robot developer Knightscope is an example of ways private industry is working with government-established law enforcement agencies to make a quantum leap in police responsiveness to emerging tech trends. The company’s roving mechanical sentinels employ 360-degree eye-level HD streaming video, people detection and facial recognition features, automatic license plate recognition, thermal anomaly detection, and automatic signal detection to help prevent crime, record evidence of potential crime, and make that evidence as well as other data reliably available to human analysts for justice system follow up.
Indeed, the dialogue might as well be more about community protection than crime interdiction — Knightscope’s sentinels have demonstrated their usefulness more broadly by using the thermal camera to recognize a heat anomaly within a client business, for example, alerting emergency responders to a developing fire hazard before an out-of-control blaze could do significant damage (https://ibn.fm/NwcoV).
This emphasis on community safety and a cost-competitive solutions approach to marketing the robotic security models have gained Knightscope the backing of four major corporations and more than 17,000 investors, many of whom are “chief security officers of major corporations … NYPD detectives, (representatives of the) FBI, CIA, (and) DHS,” according to CEO William Santana Li (https://ibn.fm/2tcrD).
Although the company is privately held, Knightscope continues working toward going public. A recent blog entry noted the company is indeed “pursuing a successful listing and (continuing) to focus on that process” (https://ibn.fm/uybmn). In the meantime, interested members of the public can invest in Knightscope through the company’s Reg A+ offering.
While Knightscope’s technology is far from the police cyborg action envisioned by “Robocop,” it is part of an adaptive effort that is responding to recent societal concerns about police-related violence that have ironically become more pronounced amid the adoption of technology designed to instill greater confidence in law enforcement activities. Barely a decade has passed since “Taser Cams” and police car dash cams made a splash (https://ibn.fm/G4f0G) that gave rise to body-mounted cameras worn on officers’ uniforms (https://ibn.fm/fWYwh) for supporting officers’ reports on their activities.
The University of Oregon’s recent announcement that it will convert many of its armed police officer job openings to unarmed “community service” patrol officer positions that are designed more to create a crime-discouraging presence and an informational front-line with the support of a decreased number of armed police personnel backups is emblematic of agencies’ efforts to adapt to their communities’ concerns (https://ibn.fm/KoY7n).
Factor in the economic ravages of this year’s pandemic and uncertainty about when (or how) life will return to “normal,” and some analysts foresee a pending “great reset” in which vehicular automation, prison and jail population reductions and stay-at-home workforces drive a system in which many core law enforcement activities are regionalized, with community agencies focusing on community service, family counseling and code enforcement (https://ibn.fm/BYaMP).
However things develop, Knightscope’s artificial intelligence-enhanced security models have the tools to adapt to conditions and support agencies’ emerging needs.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Knightscope.com.
Visit www.Knightscope.com/invest for a summary of Knightscope as an investment, with a blue Instant Messaging button for direct contact with their CEO.
DISCLAIMER: You should read the Offering Circular and risks related to this offering before investing. This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC. This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Knightscope are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/Knight
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