ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – People living in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward have noticed a new security officer patrolling the streets… and the fact that it’s not a person at all.

“Spunky,” said Brenda, a nearby resident at Station 464 Apartments. “His name is Spunky.”

Spunky patrols the sidewalks in front of Station 464 & 496 Apartments on Boulevard NE, a busy road that’s seen an uptick in crime over the past six months.

“Yes, it’s needed,” Brenda said. “It’s very much needed.”

Spunky is actually a K-5 robot created by Knightscope.

“I love that they came up with Spunky,” said Knightscope Executive Vice President Stacy Stephens upon hearing the name. “He’s our fifth generation.”

Listed on the depth chart as weighing over 400 pounds and standing at 5′6,″ Spunky acts much like a person with a 2.5-hour battery life.

“We as humans have five senses we use to navigate our daily lives,” Stephens said. “The robot coincidentally has five sensors to navigate through its life.”

That includes sensors to navigate and recognize anomalies, where it can record the surrounding area, notify police of problems, and even give basic commands.

“Yes, it’s going to engage and interact with people,” Stephens said. “It’s not, however, like a Siri or Alexa, where you’re going to sit there and have a conversation with it.”

And it’s not going to keep the pod bay doors closed. (Sorry, Hal).

Spunky has been on patrol for only a month, but the reviews are positive.

“Well, I would give him a 10 out of 10,” Brenda said. “It’s 100% safer.”

Copyright 2024 WANF. All rights reserved.

Libby Allnatt

Libby Allnatt is the Editor/Reporter for What Now Atlanta. She has been in the journalism industry since graduating from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, gathering experience in copy editing, writing and social media. With a passion for helping people find their new favorite places, Libby enjoys highlighting small businesses, trying new coffee shops and exploring a city’s signature spots. Originally from Salt Lake City, she loves discovering all the Peach State has to offer.

Kim Zolciak returned to reality TV with Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets, but don’t expect her to return to The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

The Bravo alum revealed that she turned down an offer to return to RHOA due to her previous experience starring on the show.

“I walked away from millions of dollars,” Zolciak told co-star Josie Canseco after she said she saw the “toxic environment” as she witnessed The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City being filmed. “I was eight months pregnant with my son… glasses being thrown. It was f***ing terrible.”

Zolciak continued, “I have PTSD from it, like, severe. There’s not enough money to ever go through what I went through, ever.”

The television personality was one of the original cast members of RHOA when the show premiered in 2008. Zolciak was a full-time cast member for the first five seasons before calling it quits. Bravo gave Zolciak a spinoff titled Don’t Be Tardy that centered around her daily life, her husband, Kroy Biermann, and their family. The show premiered in 2012 and lasted eight seasons, ending its Bravo run in 2020.

Zolciak returned to RHOA in Season 9 (2016) and signed up for a “friend of” role for Season 10 the next year before walking away from the show as things got tense between her and her co-stars.

On MTV‘s Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets, Zolciak also said that “karma comes full circle,” adding, “I’ve watched it happen to people, and here I am, and well, where are the others — a couple of them?”

Watch Zolciak talk about RHOA in the video below.