Singapore is always known for implementing strict and secure laws. The state had taken enough measures to ensure that its laws are not breached which includes placing surveillance cameras all over the place and introducing robots to keep an eye on rule breakers. Singapore now has started testing a robot called Xavier for this purpose. They are setting a couple of them for patrolling and surveying a public area with heavy traffic. For the coming three weeks, the robots are deployed to monitor the crowded Toa Payoh Central for finding out “undesirable social behaviours” in the eyes of the nation. These behaviours include many rules like prohibiting congregation of more than five people under COVID-19 safety measures.
Besides this, Xavier robots also look for instances of smoking in prohibited areas and illegal dealerships. The robots will first patrol for the improperly parked bicycles in the surrounding areas and the misuse of sidewalks and footpaths by any motorcycle or mobility device. Then it will pass the information to its command centre and then will display a corresponding message on its screen to educate people.
Cameras that are capable of giving 360- degree views to its command centre are attached to the robots. It can capture images in dim light using IR and low-light rays. The video captured by the robots will be further analyzed by an AI system for getting anything that needs human officers’ response. For the autonomous navigation of the robots, sensors are fitted on them which helps in identifying stationary as well as moving objects including vehicles and pedestrians.
It was announced already that Singapore is planning to double the number of its surveillance cameras to 200,000 for the next years. The state officials strongly believe that the adoption of robots can help in enhancing the surveillance activities and reducing the need for officers for doing physical patrols.
