Here, robotic policeman Xavier roams the streets to maintain order…

Smoking where it is not permitted, parking your bike incorrectly, violating Corona measures, driving a motorbike on a pedestrian walkway… you can no longer get away with it in Singapore. The country is already famous for keeping a close eye on its citizens — from surveillance cameras on lampposts, checking internet connections to facial recognition software — but now they’ve gone one step further.

Nowadays you can come across “Xavier” on the street. Blue and white robot on four wheels with many cameras on top. He should address people about “unwanted social behaviour”. If Xavier detects a violation, it will send a notification to the Control Center. And then gives a message to the violators. For example, the robot stopped in front of a group of elderly people who were watching a chess match. “Please keep one meter away. Please keep it for five people in each group,” shouted the robot.

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Xavier can navigate completely by himself, avoiding pedestrians and obstacles without any problems. It is also equipped with 360-degree cameras that transmit videos to the control center. Even in the dark, because it is equipped with infrared cameras.

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Robocop

The street patrol robots were tested for three weeks in September. For many people, it took a while to get used to it. What does . refer to? Robocop, a 1987 American science fiction movie about a cyborg police officer, wasn’t far behind. But questions about privacy also immediately arose. “It all adds up to the feeling that people should pay attention to what they say and do in Singapore, much more than in other countries,” activist Lee Yi Ting told AFP news agency.

But the government defends the robots. They say bots were not used to identify criminals or take effective action during the testing period. They are a staunch supporter of robots because they can fill the gap in the labor market.

(sgg)