After RoboCop, Dubai Police recruits self driving surveillance car

After inducting robot officers in its police force in May, Dubai has come up with a RoboCar – a self-driving car that acts as a mobile surveillance unit.

By the end of the year, Dubai’s police force will have the new recruit patrolling the streets.

The car is the size of a child’s toy electric buggy and equipped with a 360-degree camera which uses facial recognition technology to “scan for wanted criminals and undesirables."



Built by Singapore-based start-up OTSAW Digital, Dubai will be the first city in the world to use the mini car for everyday patrols.



Just like robot policemen, the robot car technology isn’t expected to replace human surveillance but to merely complement it by “fulfilling low-level order enforcement tasks.”

As well as all-seeing cameras, the car can charge itself automatically, along with an onboard drone to follow individuals to places where the bot can’t drive.



In a press statement, Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, commander of the Dubai Police Force, said: “We seek to augment operations with the help of technology such as robots. Essentially, we aim for streets to be safe and peaceful even without heavy police patrol.” In its test phase, the bot will be initially deployed in tourist locations.

#اخبار:
دورية ذاتية القيادة تنضم لخدمة #شرطة_دبي.#أمنكم_سعادتنا #دبي_الذكية#SmartDubai
التفاصيل:https://t.co/r2eb7VPtfB pic.twitter.com/ZhwNfTzHyY

— Dubai Policeشرطة دبي (@DubaiPoliceHQ) June 28, 2017

Dubai Police is making strides in line with its earlier announcement that it wants 25 per cent of its police force to be robots by 2030.