DENVER — If you’re heading to downtown Denver to celebrate any of the New Year’s Eve festivities, two parking garages are fighting crime in a high-tech way.
“This is Dave, and this is his home at 1401 17th Street,” said Amy Keach, president of CIM Group.
“Dave” has been patrolling every level of the LoDo Towers garage on 17th and Market streets since October 2022, with his sidekick "LoDoMus Prime" at the garage across the street.
At 5 feet 6 inches tall and more than 400 pounds, he doesn’t move fast, but he can sense your every move.
“I just wonder, is it going [to] give me a ticket in the next 15 minutes? Like do I need to go?” laughed Beth Anne Demeter, who’s seeing the technology for the first time walking to her parked car.
Keach said building management was dealing with an uptick in criminal activity during the pandemic and found the robots as a viable solution.
“If you don't feel comfortable when you come into the office, what do you have?” said Keach.
Since Dave’s deployment, Keach said the company has seen a 70% drop in car break-ins.
Knightscope, the company that built the robots, works with office buildings, airports, and even hospitals on a subscription basis.
The company said it costs less than $9 an hour for 24/7 surveillance. The clients own the data. Knightscope owns the robots.
Knightscope's robots record 360-degree video in 4K quality. They have thermal imaging to detect fires, emergency communication capabilities and even gunshot detection.
Keach said it's important to know the robots aren't meant to replace the building's on-site security team.
“The robots are really just meant to enhance what we have on-site. Our on-site team monitors, the surveillance cameras, and they monitor basically everything that the robots do,” said Keach.
Demeter said whether we like it or not, she thinks we’re going to be seeing more “Daves” in our daily lives.
“Do I feel safer knowing the robot has my back? I don't know. The jury's out on that one,” said Demeter.
Knightscope said they have a few clients in Denver. Another robot patrols a mixed-used parking structure in the city.
