By Brad Matthews - The Washington Times - Friday, September 6, 2024

Red robots that have been spotted on District sidewalks are part of a D.C. Department of Transportation pilot program to help manage signs and sidewalks in the city, the agency said this week — not to hand out parking tickets.

DDOT posted a picture of one of the robots painted with the agency’s color and logo on social media Wednesday.

“Fun fact, these friendly rovers are part of a pilot program to determine if they can be used to help in sign & sidewalk condition inventory. If you see one, take a selfie and spread the word!” DDOT said.

Some feared the robots, provided by the California-based company Kiwibot, were there to issue parking tickets.

“Soo, are robots giving parking tickets now in washington DC? I saw a [DDOT] robot today,” X user @jadeunedited posted, along with a video of a robot and a woman on a sidewalk.

The robots aren’t there to give out tickets or otherwise interact with residents, but instead help DDOT employees.

“Normally, there are hundreds of our staff that, every year, go out into the streets to make sure the signs are correct. This is just an added component to make sure that we’re able to maintain it,” DDOT spokesperson German Vigil told Washingtonian.

The robots are not unaccompanied. The woman spotted in the social media video was a DDOT employee, and Mr. Vigil told Washingtonian that operators will always be in the area when the Kiwibots are being used.

The District has more than 200,000 traffic signs, and DDOT hopes the robots can help manage the load.

“Stuff is constantly changing on our streets. And we need a way to keep that information updated and current,” DDOT Innovation Branch Manager Stephanie Dock told NBC affiliate WRC-TV.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.

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