The NYPD is deploying a 420-pound robocop to roam Times Square's subway station

A 420-pound, 5-foot-2-inch robocop with a giant camera for a face will begin patrolling the Times Square subway station overnight, the NYPD announced Friday morning.

At a press conference held underground in the 42nd Street subway station, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the city is launching a two-month pilot program to test the Knightscope K5 Autonomous Security Robot.

During the press conference, the K5 robot – which is shaped like a small, white rocketship – stood silently along with uniformed officers and city officials in suits. Stripes of glowing blue lights indicated it was “on.”

The K5 will act as a crime deterrent and provide real-time information on how to best deploy human officers to a safety incident, the mayor said. It features multiple cameras, a button that can connect the public with a real person, and a speaker for live audio communication.

“I’ve gone a long way from being a transit cop, to being next to a robot,” Adams said, grinning. “We’re going to keep us safe no matter which way we do it.”

The robot is almost as tall as the mayor — but at least three-times as wide around the waist — has 360-degree vision and moves at a maximum speed of 3 miles per hour.

The NYPD said the K5 will act as another camera in its citywide surveillance camera network. New York City Transit President Richard Davey said the robot would make the subway system safer.

“You've often heard me say I think we have more cameras than a Las Vegas casino in our subway network,” he said. “Unlike a robot in Vegas, it won’t serve you drinks, but it will keep you safe.”

During the pilot program, the K5 will patrol the Times Squares subway station from midnight to 6 a.m. with a human NYPD handler that will help introduce it to the public.

After two months, the mayor said the handler will no longer be necessary, and the robot will go on solo patrol. “Like I did as a transit cop.”

Knightscope, which manufactures the robot, reports that it has been deployed to 30 clients in 10 states, including at malls and hospitals.

The K5 has been in some sticky situations in other cities. One was toppled and slathered in barbecue sauce in San Francisco, while another was beaten by an intoxicated man in Mountain View, California, according to news reports. Another robot fell into a pool of water outside an office building in Washington, D.C.

When asked whether the robot was at risk of vandalism in New York City, the mayor strode over to it and gave it a few firm shoves. “Let's be clear, this is not a pushover. 420 pounds. This is New York tested,” he said.

Michael Kemper, the NYPD's chief of transit, said anyone who tried to harm the robot would be identified and arrested.

Adams also proudly stated the cost-effectiveness of the robocop as compared to a human transit cop: The city is leasing the robot for $9 an hour.

“This is a good investment of taxpayer dollars,” he said. “This is below minimum wage, no bathroom breaks, no meal breaks.”

The K5 pilot is beginning amid the NYPD introduction of a number of new policing technologies. In April, officials showed the public a robot dog and a GPS projectile-shooting device. On Friday, the NYPD said the robot dogs, or “Digidogs,” are set to arrive over the next few months.

Police previously said the dogs can be used to assess dangerous situations involving hostages, terrorism incidents and encounters with people in mental health crises.

The introduction of the policing technology has raised alarms among some police reform and legal advocates, who have privacy and budget concerns, as well as concerns that New Yorkers don’t want to live in a city patrolled by robots.

In June, the Legal Aid Society called on the New York City Department of Investigation to investigate the rollout of the surveillance technologies, saying they violate the Police Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act.

In a press release, it said the public particularly doesn’t want Digidogs, a technology it called a “dystopian robot.”

The NYPD said Friday the K5 robot will only use video surveillance in the same way it’s already used around the city, and that it won’t use audio or facial recognition technology.

The press conference ended with a photo op for the mayor and the NYPD's latest recruit. The mayor made a half-heart shape with his hand and pressed it to the K5’s waterproof exterior. The robot did nothing.