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Knightscope K5

Knightscope · US

The Knightscope K5 is a US-built, battery-electric autonomous security robot for outdoor and indoor patrol of parking structures, campuses and transit facilities. The current fifth-generation K5v5 (shipping since Dec 2023) weighs 190.5 kg, moves at up to 4.8 km/h, carries 6 lidar, 13 sonar, four 4K cameras and a thermal camera, and patrols 2.5-3 h between 20-30 min autonomous charges. It is sold only as a Machine-as-a-Service subscription (approx. USD 11/hr) with LTE/5G backhaul to the KSOC cloud console.

Sources: https://knightscope.com/hubfs/Product%20Documentation/K5V5C.pdf ; https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/knightscope-begins-shipping-5th-generation-k5-asr-2023-12-13

Specs

Launch year 2013
MTOW 190.5 kg
Endurance 2.5 h
Speed 4.8 km/h
Propulsion Battery-electric wheeled base (fully enclosed skirt; low-speed pedestrian platform). K5v5 introduced a wider stance ('more planted propulsion system') and an all-new battery architecture. Autonomous docking/charging at a 120 V 20 A docking station.
Comm 6 x lidar sensors (Velodyne/Ouster Puck class), 13 x sonar sensors, 4 x HD wide-angle cameras giving 360-degree near eye-level 4K video, 1 x infrared thermal camera, 4 x microphones, 1 x amplified PA speaker/horn, 4 x strobe lights; GPS, IMU and wheel encoders per SEC filings
Price ~USD 11/hour (subscription)
Price notes Machine-as-a-Service subscription only: OEM states approx. USD 11 per hour for the K5 (ASR subscriptions range USD 1-11/hr across product line, Sep 2025 investor deck), i.e. roughly USD 96k/yr at 24/7. 2019-era brochure terms: 3-year contract paid annually; monthly plans at 10% premium. No outright purchase price; hardware stays Knightscope-owned under MaaS. Third-party 2019 data (Uncrewed Systems) cites monthly fees USD 650-5,500 across K1/K3/K5 tiers. The OEM 2025 deck lists 'devices' at USD 5,000-12,000, which refers to the K1 emergency-communication devices, not the K5.

Suppliers

  • Velodyne Lidar (now part of Ouster) (US): lidar: Puck (VLP-16 class)
  • Alco Metal Fab (US): chassis
  • E and M Electric and Machinery Inc. (EandM) (US): drivetrain
  • Sybridge Digital Solutions LLC (SyBridge Technologies) (US): chassis
  • OLogic, Inc. (US): processor
  • Verizon (Verizon Frontline) (US): rf

Sources

NDAA Shop — NDAA- and TAA-verified parts for defense ground robots