Police robots have been deployed in Singapore to crack down on “undesirable social behaviours”.
Singapore’s Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) have announced they are set to deploy two robots named Xavier to roam the streets of the Asian city-state, which will hunt down “undesirable social behaviours” using cameras with a 360-degree field of vision and analytics software.
According to Business Insider, the robots are designed to detect activities such as public smoking, violation of pandemic restrictions, and illegally selling goods on the street.
The Xavier robots will also be able to crack down on the use of motorised vehicles or motorcycles on pedestrian walkways and “improperly parked bicycles”.
When the robots detect one of these actions, they will trigger an alert to the command centre, as well as display a message educating the public on why their behaviour was deemed inappropriate.
HTX wrote in a press release: “Once Xavier detects any of the above, it will trigger real-time alerts to the command and control centre, and display the appropriate message (depending on the scenario) to educate the public and deter such behaviours.”
Xavier was launched in Toa Payoh Central on September 5, and the first run of the robots will last for three weeks before their effectiveness is reviewed.
