CITY OF HUNTINGTON PARK
Police Department
City Council Agenda Report

November 6, 2018

Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
City of Huntington Park
6550 Miles Avenue
Huntington Park, CA 90255
Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council:
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF AN AGREEMENT WITH KNIGHTSCOPE
INC. FOR A SERVICE SUBSCRIPTION FOR A K5 MODEL AUTONOMOUS ROBOT
AND SOFTWARE
IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL:
1. Authorize the City Manager to execute a Machine-as-a-Service Subscription
Agreement between Knightscope Inc. and the City of Huntington Park for a term
of 1 year, with automatic 1 year renewals, until either party decides to terminate
the agreement with proper notice in accordance with the termination clause of
the agreement;
2. Authorize the City Manager to acquire the K5 robot and deploy the robot in the
community for enhanced public safety and data collection service in areas of the
community deemed beneficial from use of the K5 robot.
BACKGROUND
The City of Huntington Park primarily relies on public safety personnel and city staff to
provide safety for its residents and maintain the best possible quality of life environment
throughout the community. To enhance the efforts of public safety personnel and city
staff, technology systems in the form of fixed video surveillance cameras and license
plate readers are utilized in various highly attended or travelled areas of the community,
including city parks, retail district(s), public buildings, and public parking lots. While the
fixed technology systems aid in monitoring areas, recording activity, and gathering data,
they are limited from providing expanded, or mobile, service due to their fixed nature
and limited lens view range.
In effort to alleviate demand on public safety personnel and city staff from continuing to
meet the growing demand for policing high activity and crime areas in the community,
and to expand the use of technology to improve safety and quality of life, staff is

13

 CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF AN AGREEMENT WITH KNIGHTSCOPE
INC. FOR A SERVICE SUBSCRIPTION FOR A K5 MODEL AUTONOMOUS ROBOT
AND SOFTWARE
November 6, 2018
Page 2 of 4

recommending the purchase of a service agreement with Knightscope Inc., to acquire
the service of a K5 autonomous robot.
The K5 is a 400 pound, 5’2” tall, autonomous, highly sophisticated, technological
security robot that roves any paved or smooth surface area. The K5 is ideal for
enhancing security in public parks, parking lots, public buildings, and shopping areas.
The K5 is constantly on the prowl for suspicious activity and is a visual deterrent to
would-be troublemakers and criminals. Having the appearance of something from outerspace or a science-fiction movie, the K5 is equipped with a multitude of sensors. One
system being a LDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) array of sensors. Cameras that
help the K5 differentiate between a harmless passer-by and potential criminal is also a
beneficial feature. The K5 technology feeds all recorded data to the cloud for storage
and future review.
The K5 is a modern day compliment to human public safety personnel, which helps fill
in the gaps where public safety personnel or city staff cannot be at all times.
Knightscope calls the K5 robot a “fully autonomous security data machine” – which fills
in the blind spots – where cities and police departments do not have the resources to
police. The K5 can also improve public safety personnel and city staff safety by
identifying dangerous or risky situations and even suspicious individuals. The K5
functions well in safe or risky environments and produces valuable data for analysis and
intelligence gathering.
Knightscope’s secret to the K5 robot is simply sensors – lots of them. The K5 is
equipped with high quality infrared cameras capable of making out license plates and it
also features onboard wireless technology capable of identifying smartphones within its
range, down to the MAC and IP addresses. The K5 technology can additionally place
individual smartphones, faces, and even cars on a “black” or “unwanted” list. Once on
the list, if the K5 detects an unwanted violator the company sends an alert signal.
Knightscope can store K5 data for as long as clients wish, but the typically the storage
period is two weeks unless otherwise requested by the client, (per terms of the
agreement). The K5 can upload more than 90 terabytes of data a year via Wi-Fi and
cellular signal. The K5 is ideal for indoor or outdoor use and even in inclement weather.
Following are some of the valuable features of the K5 robot;
 On-duty 24/7 – is never late for work and takes no vacations
 Captures an incredible amount of data
 360 degree camera view
 License plate recognition – (with blacklist database)

 CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF AN AGREEMENT WITH KNIGHTSCOPE
INC. FOR A SERVICE SUBSCRIPTION FOR A K5 MODEL AUTONOMOUS ROBOT
AND SOFTWARE
November 6, 2018
Page 3 of 4

 High quality video recording
 Detects objects and people around it
 Built-in intercom for live broadcasting
 Can play pre-recorded messages in English and Spanish
 Can play seasonal music
 Thermal recognition and anomaly detection
 Fire detection
The K5 robot is custom designed with individual preferences, such as route and desired
functions. The K5 can also detect how long a vehicle has been parked at a specific
location, which can help with identifying suspicious activity or the need for parking
violation(s) enforcement. The K5 software is alert driven and does not require an
employee to monitor the K5 activities throughout the day.
FACTS AND PROVISIONS / LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
The proposed agreement is exempt from the competitive bidding and selection process
pursuant to Huntington Park Municipal Code section 2-5.14 / Sole Source Vendors,
which states that the formal bidding process shall be waived in areas where only a
single vendor can reasonably provide the service, product or project being purchased.
The K5 robot is an exclusive product of Knightscope Inc. and contains proprietary
software owned exclusively by Knightscope Inc. No other vendor can offer the K5 robot
or the associated software to operate the robot.
Included in the service agreement are software updates, maintenance, and remote
technological assistance by expert K5 technicians.
Please reference the attached agreement for legal and procedural considerations
associated with the agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
The total fiscal impact for this expenditure, for the first three (3) years, is $240,000. In
order to offset the impact to the City’s General Fund, various funding sources can be
considered for this expenditure, such as county, state, or federal grants and/or asset
forfeiture revenues. The primary account designated for this expenditure will be the
Police Forfeiture Fund. The Fiscal Year 2018-19 Operating Budget contains an
appropriation for the first year. The payment detail is shown below.

 CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF AN AGREEMENT WITH KNIGHTSCOPE
INC. FOR A SERVICE SUBSCRIPTION FOR A K5 MODEL AUTONOMOUS ROBOT
AND SOFTWARE
November 6, 2018
Page 4 of 4

Payment Agreement
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Initial Set-up

Monthly Amount
6,000
6,000
6,000
(one-time fee)
Total:

Annual Amount
72,000
72,000
72,000
24,000
$240,000

The above pricing includes the following package:
 1– K5 Robot
 1 – Ultra HD Video
 1 – Parking Monitor Package
 1 – Interactions Package
 1 – After Hours Package
 2 – Charge Pads
The expanded terms and conditions of the cost and equipment are contained in the
attached proposed agreement for Council’s review.
CONCLUSION
Upon Council approval, staff will proceed with recommended actions.
Respectfully submitted,

RICARDO REYES
City Manager

Chief of Police
ATTACHMENT(S)
A. Machine-As-A-Service Subscription Agreement
B. K5 Brochure