The robot, named “Parker,” was preparing for a soft launch in June — scanning the layout of a seven-story lot in downtown Silver Spring — when its unannounced pilot program attracted the attention of local media. The reports caught unknowing residents and politicians “in a bit of a surprise,” according to County Council President Kate Stewart.
At a July 29 meeting, in which the council questioned two transportation officials, Stewart said Parker’s presence could make people feel uncomfortable and unwelcome, particularly those who already fear government surveillance or immigration arrest.
“The last thing we want to do is deter people from coming out into the community,” Stewart said.
Montgomery County Department of Transportation Director Christopher Conklin said the department intended to “have a more appropriate discussion” about Parker’s rollout before the news reports, explaining that the robot had not started performing its security functions when it was spotted.
“We do not yet know how effective this type of technology will be, but we are interested in trying it out and seeing what kind of data, what kind of response we get, what kind of effectiveness there is,” Conklin said.
The secretary outlined several public outreach opportunities over the next two months, steps District 1 council member Andrew Friedson said “should have happened on the front end.”
“I think it would have been helpful to us. It would have been helpful to the community. It would have been helpful to Parker,” he said.
The outreach sessions will take place in Silver Spring and will include options for Amharic (Ethiopia’s official language) and Spanish speakers, a county spokesperson said. Until then, Parker will stay in storage and out of sight, according to Conklin.
Montgomery County’s transportation department entered a one-year agreement with the robotics security company Knightscope, at about $90,000, to test Parker and perhaps bolster protective measures already in place in Silver Spring. The idea, Conklin said, is to have “an additional visual presence of security,” something “more obvious” than a wall camera or “an occasional security guard.”
Standing 5 feet tall and weighing 420 pounds, the robot looks as though it came out of the long-running TV series “Doctor Who,” with a camera-lens top and a cylindrical body akin to the exterminating Daleks. A more friendly comparison could be made with Eve, the techno love interest in the Pixar film “WALL-E.”
Once learning the layout of its environment — in this case, the Town Square public parking garage in downtown Silver Spring — Parker will be fully automatic. It would conduct its patrols alone, capturing a constant, 360-degree view, and retreat to charge as needed.
According to Conklin, though the robot can read license plates and detect motion, it will not be able to recognize faces or record audio. Its data will be deleted after 30 days, he said, and is shareable with law enforcement, as well as residents through a Maryland Public Information Act request.
Knightscope, however, would need to ask the county for permission to access Parker’s information, officials said.
The transportation secretary said the Town Square facility was chosen for the pilot because Silver Spring experiences the overwhelming majority of “security incidents” in its garages each year — approximately 71% this fiscal year.
Most of these incidents are “minor in nature,” Conklin explained, complaints about loitering or cleanliness, though more serious offenses like thefts and break-ins do occur.
“We do not have a lot of person-to-person violence in the incidents in these garages. … They are safe facilities,” he said.
All the council members encouraged finding ways to reduce crime and improve conditions in parking garages, but some questioned whether Parker was the most practical tool to reach those goals.
Told about Parker’s “call for service button,” District 5 council member Kristin Mink wondered whether an emergency blue light button, similar to those scattered across most college campuses, would do just as well without exacerbating “the fears and concerns of … many in our community.”
District 4 council member Natali Fani-González said she “met” Parker after an event, but without seeing a county logo, didn’t know what it was. The machine, she said, was going “so slowly” that it caused a backlog of cars behind it.
“I don’t have a lot of high hopes. … I just cannot see how effective it will be,” she said.
Conklin said the department might not move forward or expand the program if the robot doesn’t make a difference during its pilot, or if the public is adamantly against it.
“We are not hoping that the robot scares people,” he told the County Council. “We are not hoping that the robot is monitoring people.”
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