Silicon Valley security robot beat up in parking lot, police say

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A 300-pound egg-shaped security robot was punched to the ground by an allegedly drunken man outside a Silicon Valley shopping center, Mountain View police said.

A 41-year-old Mountain View man has been arrested in connection to the alleged parking-lot altercation with the Knightscope-made droid. The accused robo-assailant, who faces charges of prowling and public intoxication, was identified as Jason Sylvain. The robot suffered minor scratches and is back on duty following last week's incident, which was first reported Tuesday by ABC7 News.

Sylvain was not immediately reachable for comment.

Last year, one of the Knightscope's security robots knocked over a 16-month-old child at a Silicon Valley shopping center. The robot ran over the boy's right foot, causing bruising but not breaking it.

The five-foot-tall, K5 robots can read 300 license plates per minute. They also are equipped to supply 360-degree video streaming. Once an anomaly is detected by these robots, they alert security guards. The robots are not armed.

Knightscope, which is based in Mountain View charges $7 per hour for the robots that the company claims will soon be able to detect guns. The company says it has dozens of clients, including Microsoft and the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

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