On September 5, Singapore launched a autonomous robot designed to help weed out “bad public behavior.”
It was designed to patrol the neighbourhood in Toa Payoh Central as part of a three-week trial. Here’s what the robot looks like:
The Straits Times reported that “Xavier is an autonomous robot designed to weed out “undesirable social behaviours” that have been identified by public agencies.”
Instances in which Xavier may try and stop one’s bad behavior:
- Smokers in a non-smoking area
- Motorcycle riders on footpaths
- Gatherings that exceed current limits on group sizes
Xavier will be able to alert public officers in real time to offenses. The public agencies say that Xavier will “help to improve operational efficiency and reduce manpower needs for foot patrols.”
Read about all of Xavier’s technology and the intended uses of this robot here.
I guess it is inevitable that technology would be used to monitor people. I’d much prefer to see robots do this:
DCG