--- title: "Eric Adams Has Been Indicted, But His Crappy Subway Robot Will Be “Redeployed”" description: "In the wake of Eric Adams' surprise indictment, the politician's tech projects may be in limbo — but one, apparently, will live on in infamy. " date: "2024-09-27" modified: "2024-09-27" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/eric-adams-subway-robot-redeployed" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "autonomous robots" - "nyc" - "nypd" - "police robots" --- # Eric Adams Has Been Indicted, But His Crappy Subway Robot Will Be “Redeployed” ![In the wake of Eric Adams' surprise indictment, the politician's tech projects may be in limbo — but one, apparently, will live on in infamy. ]() *\Image: Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty\* In the wake of New York City Mayor Eric Adams' [surprise corruption indictment](), the politician's [pet tech projects]() may be in limbo — but one, apparently, will live on. In an email to *Futurism* following [news of Adams' federal indictment](), Stacy D. Stephens, the executive vice president and chief client officer for the robotics company Knightscope, suggested that plans to bring back the New York Police Department's autonomous subway robot are still in motion. Introduced in [pilot mode last September]() to the Times Square subway station and [taken out of commission]() early this year, Knightscope's K5 robot had apparently been [collecting dust in an empty storefront]() for months by the time the mayor commented on its conspicuous absence during a press conference earlier this month. "We have it in a new assignment," the mayor said in the early September press conference, [per *amNewYork*](). "Once it goes through his pilot, we’re going to respond to that, but he has a new assignment right now." Though the mayor didn't elaborate on what "assignment" was and his spokesperson later tried to walk back the comments, Stephens told *Futurism* today that its "redeployment" is indeed forthcoming. "As the Mayor’s office previously stated," the Knightscope spox told us, "they are working to redeploy the K5 at a \[to-be-determined\] location as another time-limited pilot." As *amNY* notes, the six-month contract the NYPD took out with Knightscope for K5 seems to have expired earlier this year. With little public knowledge about what the plan for the $12,500 robot, last seen sitting sadly inside a Times Square subway storefront in February, it's unclear whether that contract has been renewed. "Unfortunately," the spokesperson told us when we asked about the contract, "I am unable to share any additional information while the redeployment location is being decided." It's also a little hazy *why* officials would want to keep the robot in circulation. It's unable to make arrests or effectively communicate with members of the public, and [requires several police officers to guard it](). Besides reaching out to Knightscope, *Futurism* also contacted the city's Office of Technology and Innovation — which [Adams created at the beginning of his term]() to spearhead projects like this one, along with other [harebrained uses]() of [taxpayer funds]() — by phone and email to ask if anyone there knew what was up with K5. Given [everything that's gone in and around the mayor's office]() over the past 24 hours, however, we can forgive them for being a bit preoccupied. **More on robots:** [*Ukraine Is Getting Ready to Unleash a Swarm of Robot Dogs*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()