Robocop is a smart police robot who can take complaints, record audio and video clips, identify suspects, detect metals, and monitor temperature but is not yet capable of chasing down criminals. The policing robot conceived at Makers Leeway, the Start-up’s research lab, six months ago, has been made by H-BOTS, a Hyderabad-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning Start-up. Life size Robocop prototype unveiled at a function in Hyderabad by Telangana Information Technology Secretary Jayesh Ranjan on 29 December, 2017 is made of nylon plastic, said to be ten times stronger than regular plastic, and has a multi-touch screen. Hyderabad becomes the first city in India to deploy a police robot; it is totally an Indian made humanoid Robot. It is also the World’s second humanoid robot after Dubai and the one in Dubai was made in France. According to PSV Kisshhan, the founder of H-Bots Robotics, the robot would walk, recognise people, receive complaints and defuse bombs too. This smart Robocop with its autonomous physical presence interacts with its surrounding environment gathering data in real-time and detects irregularities without user interface without resting and operates at a fraction of the cost normally paid for technology, cameras, sensors and guard services:
- Robot has futuristic body design and has inbuilt Artificial Intelligence.
- Robot has dual LED lights, thermal imaging, and emergency amber flash lights.
- It has automatic charging dock station.
- Robocop prototype is five-foot-seven-inch tall and weighs 43 kg
- Robocop has ability to do 360-degree eye level surveillance, face and gesture recognition, and can control theft as well.
- Robot recognises voice and can interact in English. In the near future, it will recognise Telugu and Hindi as well. It has the ability to communicate in six different languages.
- Robot can be deployed both for Indoor and Outdoor jobs.
- Robot can also be used as an assistant for database handling, control room surveillance, building space security, friendly interaction and mapping inside the building.
- Robot is expected to be familiar with basic policing work, regulation of traffic, and details of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
- Robot has an AI unit inside, on subjects it is not familiar with, the robot will reply to queries by sourcing information from Wikipedia or Google.
- Robot is programmed to blow a siren similar to that used by police vehicles, if someone tries to tamper with it.
- Robot also contains 24/7 connectivity, ensuring that its whereabouts are known.
- Robot can work round-the-clock and its AI-enhanced surveillance capabilities would be far more superior to a human cop but is far from a complete police person.
- Robot in its present form can assist police in handling law and order and traffic management.
- Robot if deployed autonomously, it can even take care of security at selected spots at malls or airports and public places.
- H-Bots Robotics will be testing the product in the field over the next five to six months before its commercial deployment.
- H-Bots Robotics is building capacity to produce 10 such Private Police Robots a year which can serve as private security guards and can be deployed in hotels, hospitals and offices.
- H-Bots Robotics plans to produce 700 units a year by 2020 after a few more months of fine-tuning the robot
- Robots cost ranges from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 20 lakh depending on the features.
- Robocop will be able to recognise objects stationed at a location for long hours and inform the Police Control Room.
- The life-sized robot has been named after 26/11 martyr Hemant Karkare and all Smart Police Robots to be produced by H-Bot Robotics in future will be named after police martyrs.
Robot can be showcased as an advance in policing technology and eventually be introduced to carry out basic police work such as registering cases. But a lot of new ground needs to be covered in the development AI, machine learning, and robotics before there is a realistic chance of robots replacing humans in policing.
It may not be out of place to mention here that RoboCop was also a 1987 American cyberpunk science fiction superhero action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner with film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, and Ronny Cox.
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