Robot Police On Duty In Beijing

Authorities in Beijing have recently been testing the use of robot police to help them with the task of controlling the crowds.

The robots that they are using have been outfitted with extendable electroshock arms and facial recognition software. They even have a special badge that's displayed on the front; meant to signify their authority.

The robots can speak through a loud speaker and offer directions and commands to guests, helping them to continue through security inspections in an orderly fashion.

It can also offers commands like asking for your identification, or it can try to deescalate a problem by asking you not to push or shove someone.

This week during holiday celebrations, the robots have been tasked with guiding tourists to cooperate with security inspections. And it isn't clear whether or not authorities will maintain the use of them further than this week; they've been testing the use of them during the Golden Week national holiday.

As well, the robot that they are using this week, has previously been unveiled and deployed as a security officer at airport locations in the country. It must have performed its duties well enough for them to extend the use now to other tasks and jurisdictions.

Police have said that they will be using them as an additional tool, to help them to offset some of the pressure of perhaps rather seemingly mundane tasks of queuing lines etc. By delegating that responsibility to the robots, they can take up more important tasks to focus on.

This isn't the first country to experiment with using robot police officers. Dubai recently announced their own use of robot police as well. Their police officer is alleged to have already officially gone on duty and has been tasked with patrolling tourist attractions and malls.

Though authorities in China might only see the robot as an additional tool now, other governments have made it clear that they intend to dramatically ramp-up their use of them in the years to come. Dubai has already made their goal clear of aiming for at least a 25 percent robotic police force by 2030.

However, they too have said though that they don't intend to entirely replace their police force with the robots, but that they hope these robot officers can free up their police for more serious tasks than things like patrolling malls or helping people to move through a line-up.

Aside from governments and their police authorities looking to use robot security officers, private companies have also started using them to patrol their property. Limited numbers of the robot patrolling devices have already taken to the streets in the US.

But it hasn't all been smooth sailing. The robots have already had their fair share of mishaps. One of the robot security officers has already been accused of allegedly running over a 16mo old child at a mall, one fell down some stairs and drowned, and another somehow got involved in an altercation with a drunk 41 year old man in a parking area, which ended with the robot (which is said to weigh around 300 lbs) being knocked down.

It might not be very long before you start to see these or similar security robots not only at holiday festivals and train stations or airports, but also at malls, office buildings, schools, and other populated areas.

Pics:
instey.com/tag/chinadaily
Asia Wire Via Daily Mail
Dubai Media Office via BBC
via techworm.net/2016/01/crime-fighting-robots-now-patrolling-streets-california.html

Sources:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/robocops-been-deployed-busy-city-11317952
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4966604/Robotic-POLICE-hit-streets-Beijing.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-40026940
http://www.bjreview.com/Nation/201609/t20160922_800068029.html
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/293425
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/washington-dc-knightscape-k5-robot-falls-into-fountain/
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/18/robot-cop-found-face-down-office-block-fountain
http://abc7news.com/technology/police-drunk-man-knocked-down-300-pound-robot-in-mountain-view/1915713/
https://steemit.com/technology/@doitvoluntarily/the-world-s-very-first-operational-robot-police-officer