Singapore's New Robo Cops
Xavier on Patrol to Fight Small Crimes
Also Known as "Snitch" Bot
For the next month on the streets of Singapore, a bold robotic experiment is getting underway. A pair of robots, both named Xavier, will help Singapore police spot small, petty crimes. Their duties include patrolling a popular shopping center to spot "undesirable social behavior" like hawking and illegal product selling, smoking in unauthorized areas, motorbiking on sidewalks, gatherings of more than 5 people in violation of COVID restrictions and illegally parked vehicles. The 2 Xaviers are being jokingly nicknamed "snitch-bots" because of their surveillance duties. When Xavier spots questionable activity, he sends an alert and video to police command and control and a human police officer comes to the scene to investigate, if need be.
New Robotic Technology
The pair of Xavier's were built by Singapore's Home Team Science and Technology Agency or HTX, whose mission is to design new technologies for police and national security officials. Xavier is an autonomous robot on wheels with a camera array mounted on top. It provides a two way communications system with police officers at headquarters monitoring its footage coming in from the street. The police can talk to people on the street through Xavier. Additionally, the display embedded in the front of the robot also sends a readout or broadcast message to nearby passersby and to the individuals violating the law.
More Advanced Technologies
To navigate the shopping plaza area, Xavier uses an array of sensors that have been trained on data from the shopping center environment. When on duty, Xavier films illegal activity like hawking and illegally selling goods and then the robot processes the images using neural networks, artificial intelligence and software logic to determine if it matches existing data and should be considered for investigation by human police officers.
Potentially High-Value Robotic Deployment
HTX says the robots are very valuable in doing routine and mundane work like patrolling to spot small crimes. It frees up time for human officers to do more important duties and in some cases could keep them out of harms way, such as from Covid exposure. The robots do not have any policing authority. They work as an aide and tool for the police. HTX says they also offer substantial cost savings by eliminating the need to hire humans to do the job. To take a look at my latest book on exciting new robots, go to https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B0926BP31C&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_4W3NV9ECNVNQ1J65F1PA
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