April 27, 2016
AND THEY AREN'T UNIONIZED:
CHINA DEBUTS ANBOT, THE POLICE ROBOT (Jeffrey Lin and P.W. Singer, 4/27/16, PopSci)
The 1.5 meter tall, 78 kg Anbot looks like a cross between Star Wars' R2D2 and Doctor Who's Daleks, with a touchscreen on top. It has enough battery power for 8 hours of operations, autonomous navigation and intelligent video analysis, and can reach speeds of 18 kmh to chase down fleeing criminals or respond to emergencies. The Anbot can also rush over to the scene if a bystander cries for help, and it can even recharge itself without human intervention (bad news in the event of a robot uprising). NDU promises that in addition to standard police patrolling, the Anbot can undertake riot control, by remotely firing its electroshock weapons (or by running over unruly protesters).
Posted by Orrin Judd at April 27, 2016 7:05 PM