Dubai has just introduced a fully functional robot police officer. The robot was introduced to the world during the Gulf Information Security and Expo conference on Sunday.
The robot made its debut by greeting people at the conference. According to Dubai police, it will be sent to patrol the streets as soon as the expo has ended.
The robotic officer rolls on wheels and is capable of speaking in multiple languages as well as salute and bow. It can also recognize hand gestures from up to 1.5 meters away. There is a tablet that has been lodged into its chest which civilians can use to report crimes.
The robot has been designed by the Dubai police in collaboration with Google and IBM’s Watson. Although it was never designed to take on serious crimes, the robot will still be able to take care of small tasks such as helping civilians find the way and report a crime.
Director of Smart Services Department for the Dubai Police, Brigadier General Khalid Nasser Al Razouqi, the police force aims to add more robots to the police force. By 2030, they aim to have robots covering around 25 percent of the whole police force in Dubai.