The mayor of New York and the city's Police Department (NYPD) presented several robots this Tuesday that will help officers maintain security, including a 'police dog' previously removed due to criticism.

"We are announcing three new police technologies in New York City: the K5 autonomous security robot, the Digidog robot and the StarChase GPS accessory," said Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell at a press conference in Times Square.

The city bought two Digidogs with various accessories, such as a gas detector, for 750,000 dollars (around 688,000 euros) and will rent the other two technologies for a pilot test starting this summer, for 1750 dollars (around 1600 euros) a month.

"I'm looking for what's best for the city and the three [tools] we're launching today [Tuesday] are just the beginning," said Eric Adams, mayor of the metropolis and former police officer, who declares himself a great technology aficionado.

The K5 robot is equipped with several cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence, which allows it to provide real-time information to agents.

This technology has been used in various areas of the United States and has helped, among other things, in shopping mall shootings.

After six months of testing, the robot will patrol Times Square and its subway stations, according to the NYPD.

The StarChase system works by attaching a GPS device, either manually or by firing it from a vehicle, to a fleeing vehicle and the tool allows the vehicle to be tracked in real time.

This technology will allow NYPD officers to remotely follow a vehicle, thus avoiding a vehicle chase through the streets of New York.

The Digidogs, which had already passed the pilot test previously, will be incorporated directly into the NYPD.

This yellow, dog-like robot, with a camera in place of its head, produced by Boston Dynamics, was criticized at the time by several civil rights defenders, leading the previous municipal executive, led by Bill de Blasio, to discard it and hand it over to the fire department.

Adams explained that if a person has a family member kidnapped, they will appreciate this machine.

The NYPD stressed that none of these tools have facial recognition.

Source: Lusa