Robocops on duty
China deploys devices for traffic control, but without arrest power
Humanoid traffic police robots are seen July 21 in a SUPCON showroom in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China.
A traffic police robot developed by SUPCON stands on duty July 21 on a street in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China.
TECHNOLOGY
It is not quite the "RoboCop" of the 1987 movie: no gun, no power to arrest and wheels rather than the Hollywood cyborg's mechanical stride.
At a busy intersection in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, the 6-foot-2-inch robot can spot a helmetless e-bike rider, issue a polite warning and swing its mechanical arms in sync with traffic lights.
Developed by technology firm SUPCON Information, the 216pound T2 robot is part of a pilot aimed at handing some of police officers' most repetitive traffic-control duties to machines.
The robocop uses cameras, radar and onboard computing to identify riders without helmets, e-bikes carrying passengers, vehicles stopping over marked lines and pedestrians crossing against signals, SUPCON's intelligent unmanned systems innovation center head Cao Hui said in an interview.
The traffic robots represent a broader Chinese industry push to move machines beyond exhibition-floor acrobatics and showroom greetings into practical jobs.
The robots also can answer questions about directions, parking and traffic rules, while an emergency function connects users with police. Their seven-jointed arms reproduce standard traffic-police gestures synchronized with the signals, Cao said.
SUPCON deployed 15 robots in Hangzhou since May. The company said they issued more than 170,000 warnings and helped reduce monthly cases of helmetless riding and vehicles crossing stop lines by more than 40%.
Hangzhou's traffic police did not respond to a request for comment, and Reuters could not independently verify the figures.
Don't need breaks
The company tested the machines for thousands of hours in tourist areas, school zones, business districts, rush-hour traffic and poor weather, Cao said.
Cameras and radar can be affected by strong sunlight, rain and temperature extremes, though SUPCON said its violation-recognition accuracy exceeds 95%.
The aim, Cao said, is to replace punishment after a violation with a timely reminder before behavior becomes habitual.
"It doesn't get tired," he said of the robot. "It can work steadily for long periods."
Cao said the robots operate autonomously from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., moving between pre-set positions at intersections without remote control. A central platform allows traffic police teams to monitor and dispatch
SUPCON said almost 50 such robots are operating across about eight cities in three Chinese provinces, and it expects deployments to approach 200 by the end of the year.
Hurdles ahead
Chery-backed robotics company AiMOGA sees potential for police robots in overseas markets where traffic officers face punishing roadside conditions, citing high temperatures in the Middle East and persistent rainy seasons in Southeast Asia.
However, AiMOGA executive Zhang Guibing said deploying them abroad would be more complicated than exporting a car.
Police robots would need to fit law enforcement IT systems, obtain certifications and comply with data-protection rules, Zhang said, particularly because they use cameras and other sensors.
Almost 50
Traffic robots operating across about eight cities.
