Robot Falls into Fountain in a Washington, D.C. Office Building

The security guard bot, which met a watery demise, has a history of mishaps.

July 18, 2017 12:36 pm
The K5 security guard robot "drowned" in a DC fountain. (Bilal Farooqui/ Twitter)
The K5 security guard robot "drowned" in a DC fountain. (Bilal Farooqui/ Twitter)

Security guards should be less worried losing their jobs to robots today.

An errant robot wandered into a fountain in Washington, D.C. and “drowned” on Monday, assuaging the fears of individuals like, Elon Musk, concerned about a violent android-led revolution.

Made by Knightscope, the K5 robot is meant to act as a security guard and autonomously patrol areas like office buildings and shopping malls. Capable of streaming 360-degree video in real-time, the egg-shaped machine is equipped with “advanced anomaly detection” and “forensic capabilities.” Apparently, anomalies don’t include robot-killing fountains.

The mishap gained attention when Bilaal Farooqui tweeted a photo (above) of the “suicidal bot,” which took place at the mixed-use Washington Harbor development. Knightscope had some fun with embarrassing error, tweeting out a tongue-in-cheek statement.

Fortunately, no humans were injured in this incident but the K5 bot has a history of causing trouble. The Guardian reports the 300-pound robot knocked over a drunk man in a California parking lot in April this year. The K5 also reportedly ran over a 16-month-old child at a shopping mall last year.

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