Robots can be your best friend. Some can unload 1600 boxes per hour. Some to do backflips, paint masterpieces. Some to inspect crime scenes. Others will advise you to stop smoking and ride your motorbike only on designated footpaths.
Singapore is testing robots to patrol pedestrian areas. This is an area where surveillance is often controversial.
The robot mall cop named Xavier will autonomously roll through Toa Payoh Central district starting Sept. 5 to scan for "undesirable behaviours". According to a press release (via Engadget), the Home Team Science and Technology Agency of the government (HTX).
The project involves five Singapore government agencies: HTX (the National Environment Agency), the Land Transport Authority and the Singapore Food Agency. It is also a joint effort between the Housing and Development Board and five other agencies. HTX and A*STAR have built the robots.
Xavier will look out for "undesirable behaviours" such as congregations of more than five (as per COVID-19), illegal hawking and improperly parked bicycles in the Housing and Development Board Hub. He also looks out for motorised active mobility devices and bikes on footpaths.
If you are participating in any of these activities as a Xavier passes by, the robot will notify the project's command center and display a message corresponding with your offense.
The robot has sensors that can avoid pedestrians and moving obstacles, as well as cameras (including low-light cameras) to give a 360-degree view and a dashboard showing details such as the robot's battery life and vitals. Officers will determine the robot's route and can respond in real-time to any incidents using a built-in intercom.
What's the exact destination of the data from Xavier cameras? HTX stated in a press release that the data would be "streamed into a video analytics platform with artificial intelligence capability," where public officers can analyze it and deploy additional resources if needed.
According to the agency the project aims at reducing the number of police foot patrols.
In a press release, Lily Ling (director of East Regional Office at Singapore Food Agency), stated that "the deployment of ground robots would help to augment our surveillance resources and enforce resources." For example, surveillance of illegal hawkers is a task that requires a lot of manpower. Officers must be deployed in different areas throughout the island. Robotics technology can be used in these operations to improve them and to reduce the need for officers to perform physical patrols.
This is not the first time that a security robot has been developed in Singapore. Ademco, a local security company, launched a robot-rental security guard service in 2017. This was after there had been a shortage of personnel. In the past few years, Singapore has also tried drones for surveillance. This was due to a shortage of personnel.
Singapore police have used a robot similar to Xavier before. It is a robot similar to the Multi-purpose All-Terrain Autonomous Robot. HTX and A*STAR I2R built it. It has been used at major events such as National Day and Chingay parades as a patrolbot.
Globally, security robots are a disturbing and imminent reality. Companies like Knightscope in the U.S. have offered up their K5 security robotics for years. (Yes, that's the company whose robot drowned; yes, the robot humans built a shrine for it). NYPD used Spot, a robot dog by Boston Dynamics, to investigate a crime scene in 2020. China has used police robots equipped with facial recognition software for many years.
We are curious to see how RoboCop works in Singapore. However, as a government surveillance program, it is unlikely that we will.
