He uses cameras for eyes, but the new security robot for a Montgomery County, Maryland, parking garage is raising eyebrows over privacy concerns, and the county wants to hear the public’s concerns.
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s “Parker,” a Star Wars-like robot equipped with 360-degree cameras and special sensors, is operating in a one-year pilot program to test the security cyborg at the Town Square Parking Garage in downtown Silver Spring.
Public feedback will play a big role in deciding Parker’s future. MCDOT is hosting outreach events — including appearances at the Ethiopian Day Festival (Aug. 31) and Silver Spring’s End of Summer Festival (Sept. 7) — where residents can ask questions, see a life-size cutout of the robot and fill out surveys, according to an MCDOT news release.
“We will present the feedback we receive to the County Council after completing public outreach this fall, and what we hear from the community will guide the future of the pilot,” MCDOT Director Chris Conklin said in the release.
The pilot program began in June at the garage at 801 Ellsworth Drive. As previously reported in Bethesda Today magazine, in a July 29 County Council meeting, representatives expressed concerns over Parker’s surveillance actions,
Council member Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6) said she had interacted with Parker in the Silver Spring garage before she knew about the program. She said she was “unsettled by the robot’s presence and felt like she was being watched,” according to Bethesda Today. She also said she was uncomfortable because the robot did not display information on who owned or deployed the machine.
Other councilmembers shared Fani-González’s concerns.
“At this time in our country … we are, as a body, very concerned about making sure that everyone in our community feels safe, and that means feeling safe from having pictures taken or video taken,” Council President Kate Stewart said. “We have some families who don’t go out anymore because they’re concerned about immigration enforcement and other things.”
The seven-level garage at Ellsworth Drive sees more than 9,000 customers monthly, and county officials hope Parker’s presence will help deter vandalism and crime. The robot can detect people, read license plates, and activate lights and sirens during emergencies. But MCDOT says Parker won’t use facial recognition or record audio.
MCDOT’s outreach events, which will include interpreters in Amharic and Spanish, will be held on the following dates in Silver Spring:
- Sunday, Aug. 31, noon–5 p.m. Ethiopian Day Festival, Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza, 1 Veterans Place, Silver Spring.
- Sunday, Sept. 7, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Silver Spring End of Summer Festival, Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza, 1 Veterans Place, Silver Spring.
- Thursday, Sept. 18, 5-7 p.m. Parking Store, 801 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring.
- Saturday, Sept. 27, noon–4 p.m. Parking Store, 801 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring.
County officials expect to present community feedback to the Council later this fall.
WTOP’s Matt Small contributed to this report.
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