Dubai has unveiled the world’s first operational ‘RoboCop’ as it moves towards an automated police force.
Unveiled at the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference last week, the 170cm, 100kg android will begin duties monitoring high-density malls and tourist attractions.
Manufactured by Spanish robotics company Pal Robotics, the cyborg will not be fighting crime just yet, but will instead help people complete smart police services such as report a crime or pay traffic fines, using an in-built tablet on its chest.
It will also be used to collect and relay live data for police to prevent traffic bottlenecks, and provide information about the city in Arabic and English, with plans to add Russian, Chinese, French and Spanish to its vocabulary.
"It has a smart intelligent system so it can protect people from crime, because it can broadcast what is happening right away to our command and control centre," said Brig Al Razooqi, Dubai Police Director General of Smart Services. "We are also working on facial-recognition systems."
RoboCop meeting with a fan. Source: Dubai Government
The “smart intelligent system” combines Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and other smart technologies to recognise emotions and facial expressions, and allow it to change expressions and greetings accordingly.
The ‘Dubai Police Robot’ is the first automated acquisition to the Dubai Police Force, which aims to have 25% of the force robotic by 2030.
“The launch of the world’s first operational Robocop is a significant milestone for the emirate and a step towards realising Dubai’s vision to be a global leader in smart cities technology adoption.
"We are not going to fire our police officers by replacing them with this tool but with the number of people in Dubai increasing, we want to relocate police officers so they work in the right areas and can concentrate on providing a safe city," Brig Al Razooqi said.
The lone Robocop could be joined by a partner next year, depending on funding.
