Singapore is known for having many stringent laws and for having surveillance cameras in every corner. No wonder the country ranks number one in terms of public safety. But in order to maintain its reputation for many years to come, Singaporean authorities are testing two robots on the streets to detect bad behavior such as flouting of COVID-19 safety measures, illegal hawking, improper parking of bicycles and motorcycles, and smoking in prohibited areas, its creators said last Sunday.
These autonomous patrol robots, called Xavier robots, will roam the city streets and if one happens to detect a petty crime, it’ll alert its command center and then display some corresponding message on its screen to alert and remind the lawbreakers.
Singaporean Patrol Bots – What We Know
The project was built by Singapore’s Home Team Science and Technology Agency to keep the streets safe and the nation secure at all times. These four-wheeled vehicles have a camera array on top, providing a 360-degree view. Their IR and low-light features are also capable to see things and capture images even when it’s dark. Plus, the video they capture can be analyzed by an AI system to detect if there’s something fishy going on which might require human intervention.
And if you’re wondering how they roam the streets autonomously “like a boss”, they’re fitted with sensors that enable them to interact with moving and stationary objects, such as pedestrians and cars.
Patrol Robots – Trusted From Reputation
The Xavier robots drew some experience with the Multi-purpose All-Terrain Autonomous Robots (M.A.T.A.R.), built by A*STAR I2R and HTX which were drawn alongside police forces last 2018. These patrol robots saw regular use during the National Day and Chingay parades, as well as before the COVID-19 outbreak when they were used to patrol housing complexes where migrant workers live.
Another good thing about these patrol robots is that they’re good at handling routine and repetitive tasks than their human handlers. With human officers in the command center, human intervention can be called to more important situations. And if a situation went south, for example, people flee or damages the robot, humans can be called on the scene without having to adjust on the fly.
Your Safety, Guaranteed
Xavier Singapore’s New Autonomous Patrol Robot
Meanwhile, the country’s home affairs minister, K Shanmugam, said that they planning to add at least 200,000 more cameras by 2030 to provide extra safety to its people wherever they are. Hopefully, we’ll hear more about these patrol robots in the future!
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