Look out mall cops -- this 300 pound security robot might be your replacement

Ever since RoboCop and Terminator 2: Judgment Day hit our screens a quarter century ago, people have dreaming about the use of robots to stop making hamburgers and packing boxes and start protecting the general populace. That's the mission statement of the 300-pound K5 security robot: a hefty robotic alternative to the regular security guard who packs an impressive number of features. Having been in development for a few years, the K5 has been making the news this week -- after being spotted in its (his?) new job as a mall cop at Stanford Shopping Center, where the sighting has even prompted the hashtag #securityrobot. Related: China's first robotic security guard makes its debut "Think of the K5 as an advanced anomaly detection device," Stacy Dean Stephens, manufacturing company Knightscope's vice president of marketing and sales, tells Digital Trends. "It patrols within a geofenced area using its sensors to alert security professionals of potential threats. Each machine has 360-degree high definition video for both day and low light; thermal imaging; two-way audio with public address, intercom and broadcast; license plate recognition; and people detection -- to name a few [of its attributes]."