This could probably be the first robot police officer to get sacked from its job because it failed to contribute significantly to preventing crime and arresting suspects.
Those who fear a digital police state or the rise of the machines could be relieved after knowing that the police robot failed miserably on the job.
Known as the DubBot, it worked for less than a year with the Dublin Police Department, but it did not perform the required tasks. Notably, it cost the city $67,548 last year.
It was pressed into action at the city’s Rock Cress Parking Garage in July 2025. Now, though, it has been returned to technology company Knightscope, its California-based creator.
DubBot Did Not Meet Operational Needs
According to a report by The Columbus Dispatch, the DubBot was ‘retired’ from service on May 12, 2026, after patrolling a city parking garage because it wasn’t meeting the department’s “operational needs.”
Dublin police spokesperson Robyn Gray said the DubBot was returned to Knightscope, thereby ending DubBot’s pilot program. The autonomous robot featured 360-degree video cameras, an emergency call button that could connect citizens to emergency dispatchers, and two-way emergency communication capabilities.
The DubBot’s job was to improve emergency response, support police operations, prevent crime, and assist the police department in high-traffic public spaces. However, in its entire service tenure of around 10 months, its patrols did not lead to the arrest of even a single suspect.
Not only that, the DubBot did not lead to any citations being issued or identify incidents requiring urgent police intervention. Through the pilot program, the police department wanted to assess how the DubBot performed in real-world conditions and whether the results justified continued use.
Gray said that the initial plan was to deploy two robots for two years, with the cost totaling $238,440. However, the second robot was never deployed at Riverside Crossing Park because the park did not have the infrastructure to support it, and Knightscope said it would take more time to build the second robot.
Thus, the city of Dublin actually paid $128,080 in the first year of the agreement, and a reimbursement of $60,532 is reportedly due from Knightscope, which means the city paid $67,548.
DubBot is Still Better Than the Martial Arts Robot
Guessing Headlights recently reported how a humanoid robot wearing a blue wig kicked a boy in the chest. The incident occurred at a Xinjiang tourist attraction in China, where spectators, including many children, surrounded a robot that was displaying its martial arts skills.
Several children were amused by the robot’s moves, but as it moved forward, it got closer to the boy it eventually targeted. The robot then swiftly turned and struck the boy in the chest with a kick. The boy bent down in pain and sat on the floor, while other children who watched the stunt, not realizing the seriousness of the situation, laughed and cheered.
After the kick, the robot moved back, away from the boy who had been injured. Shanghai Daily, which shared the clip on X, confirmed that the child escaped serious injury, but the boy’s mother complained that the staff members who managed the event were slow to respond to the incident.
This is evident in the video, as nobody came forward to help the injured boy, nor was the event paused for a moment to check and ensure the robot did not kick anybody else.
When one looks closely, it appears that the boy who got injured stood closer to the robot than the others. He stood on the pink band on the mat, while the other spectators stood on the yellow band.
The robot was likely allowed to perform its martial arts display within the limits of the pink band. However, the boy standing there came in its way and got kicked. It is worth mentioning that it was the organizer’s responsibility to clear the spectators from the robot’s territory to prevent such an incident.
Of course, the child’s parents also should have ensured he stood at a safe distance from the robot. The incident highlights that the robot was not ‘conscious’ of the boy’s presence and therefore executed the kick, unlike a human who would know when and who to kick.
It is possible that the robot was tuned to a combat mode that disabled all the safety layers designed to prevent it from attacking people, akin to turning off the ESP and traction control on a car. However, that is an assumption yet to be confirmed.
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