Can this 'robocop' replace traffic police?
Robots are being developed and evolved to make life easier, not to mention safer, for their human counterparts. And now, in a major development, researchers hailing from the SRI International Institute have created 'robocop' - a machine that can pull over traffic offenders and handle the interaction with them safely. Here's all about the robot and its working.
Backstory: Interacting with traffic violators can be risky
Be it India or US, traffic violators are everywhere; they skip signals, drive in the wrong lane, even go past speed limits from time to time. In every such case, a policeman has to pull the driver over and interact with them to check their license, fine them, or take them in. These encounters can often end up in physical scuffles or accidents.
This is where 'robocop' can come in
To combat this issue and save police officers and drivers from being hurt, SRI's 'robocop' comes in. The machine, attached to an extendable robotic arm on the cop's car, heads over to the offender's vehicle and checks their license and other details on behalf of the police officer. It comes with a webcam and microphone using which the driver and the police officer communicate.
Plus, it deploys spikes to stop offenders from fleeing
Along with serving as a harmless tool of interaction, the robot also comes with a bunch of safety measures. For instance, after approaching the driver, the machine smoothly deploys a spike-rod in front of the rear wheel of the drivers' car. This acts as a way to stop them from fleeing the scene without complying with the orders.
Plus, it even prints out ticket
The robot checks the license and other necessary documents of the driver with the help of an integrated scanner and even prints out a ticket in return. There's also a screen where the driver has to sign digitally for the cops.
'Robocop' can cut down dangerous cop-driver interactions
By developing this robot, the SRI research team, led by senior robotics research engineer Rueben Brewer, hopes to cut down the possibility of dangerous interactions between police and offenders. According to them, every year thousands of drivers and officers get hurt and some 100 of them die due to an unexpected assault, fight, or accident at the traffic stop.
Robots for safety, says SRI team
"With such dangerous interactions between people, maybe it's time to send a robot in between them, one that can't hurt or be hurt," the caption of a video revealing the 'robocop' says. "Our robot goes between people to keep everyone safe."
