Security bot’s creators laugh over its fountain dive

A security robot in Washington DC took an unplanned dip in a mall fountain this week — and its creators are choosing to see the humor in the situation.

Our D.C. office building got a security robot. It drowned itself.

We were promised flying cars, instead we got suicidal robots. pic.twitter.com/rGLTAWZMjn

— Bilal Farooqui (@bilalfarooqui) July 17, 2017

The robot — a Knightscope K5 security bot with advanced sensors, 360-degree video streaming, and forensic capabilities — wound up in the fountain of the Washington Harbor, a waterfront office and retail building. It was assisted by compassionate humans.

On the surface, no one would judge the poor thing — we’ve all had those days where we’re just going through the motions and end up somehow making a fool of ourselves. But it gets a little more thorny when you’re an autonomous robot whose creators boast of your ability to “guide themselves through even the most complex environments.”

In lieu of defending its wayward child, Knightscope instead chose to make fun of it:

BREAKING NEWS: "I heard humans can take a dip in the water in this heat, but robots cannot. I am sorry," said K5 in an official statement. pic.twitter.com/nWC4tubv9w

— Knightscope (@iKnightscope) July 18, 2017

Given the high temperatures in DC have been in excess of 90-degrees Fahrenheit all week, jumping into a fountain is probably an understandable reaction from anyone.