You may be surprised when you visit the crowded shopping malls in Dubai to find yourself under the protection of the police robbery. Of course, currently the robot does not speak through its mouth but it is able to communicate with you in Arabic and English, and helps you to move around the city. It can also connect you to the police station via a touch screen.
He may appear to be a man in police uniform and salute, but he is actually just an automated robot from the list of robots known as REEM, programmed by PAL Robotics, which is based in Barcelona.
"Citizens can use the robot to connect to Dubai police stations, to speak via integrated microphones, and to access other police services such as paying traffic fines, and the automated robot can report any incidents to the command center."
REEM robots have already spent several years working at public events, so it was just a case of allocating their programs to police jobs, says PAL. The police version contains a recognition program, which means that a criminal can be caught by making comparisons with the police database. PAL hopes robots become more acceptable because people are used to seeing them, and we may see them fill their roles in health care and hospitality in the not too distant future.
PAL did not confirm whether it had any additional robots as requested by Dubai Police, or whether it would upgrade the current model. However, Saif Salem Juma Ali Al Kaabi of Dubai Police told us that "the number of robots will certainly increase."
In the past, the Intelligent Services division has set a goal to replace a quarter of its officers with automatic robot patrols by 2030.
The Dubai government also announced plans for a new model that would make the current officer look like a mere tourist information point.
The second model of robot robot (Robocop2.0), it seems, will be able to rode 80km / h, but the human will remain controlled.