Check Out These New Security Robots Patroling Bank of Hawai‘i in Downtown Honolulu

Two robots are beefing up Bank of Hawai‘i’s security team. Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

They’ve stopped traffic (including buses with curious drivers), made pedestrians pause and are the talk of Fort Street Mall. Two robots are beefing up Bank of Hawai‘i’s security team.

The 5-foot-2-inch, 398-pound bots are built to withstand weather and pranksters, and each moves at an affable pace, “not too fast, so people can see it, recognize … that it’s attentive, it’s doing patrols,” says senior VP and corporate security director Brian Ishikawa.

The robot’s four cameras provide 360-degree recorded views of the bank’s campus and parking garage 24/7. People can push a button on a bot to speak with the guards on duty—the most common question being “when does the bank open?”

So why aren’t the first-in-the-Islands robots decked out in Bankoh blue? To avoid people calling them R2-D2.

This story originally appeared as “Domo Arigato” in the March 2022 issue of HONOLULU Magazine. Get your copy at shop.honolulumagazine.com and subscribe to the print and digital editions now. Then follow us on Instagram @honolulumag.