CA SPCA Ordered To Stop Using Security Robot To Deter Homeless

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- A San Francisco nonprofit was recently ordered by the city to stop using a security robot to deter homeless people from its property. The local chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals apparently began using a Knightscope robot last month to help monitor the exterior of its office, according to QZ.com.

"The robot, produced by Silicon Valley startup Knightscope, was used to ensure that homeless people didn’t set up camps outside of the nonprofit’s office. It autonomously patrols a set area using a combination of Lidar and other sensors, and can alert security services of potentially criminal activity," the news site reported.

Jennifer Scarlett, president of the San Francisco SPCA, told the Business Times that the robot was effective in making the sidewalks outside of its office safer for pets and people.

"Once the SPCA started using the robot on the sidewalks around its campus in early November, Scarlett said, there were no more homeless encampments. There were also fewer break-ins to cars in the campus parking lot. It’s not clear that the robot was the cause of the decreases, Scarlett added, but they were correlated," Business Times reported.

--Photo courtesy of Knightscope