Singapore is using a robot to help public officers maintaining public health and safety.
Indeed, the robot Xavier was developed by Singapore’s Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) and the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research, and is currently navigating the streets of Toa Payoh Central as a testing trial of three weeks to detect undesirable behaviours.
In order to do so, the robot is fitted with sensors for autonomous navigation, a 360-degree video feed to the command and control centre, real-time sensing and analysis. It is also equipped with an interactive dashboard where public officers have the possibility to receive real-time information as well as monitor and control several robots at the same time.
During this three-week period, the robot will be able to detect undesirable social behaviours such as smoking in prohibited areas and illegal hawking, for instance. When detected, it will trigger real-time alerts and display appropriate messages to educate the public and deter these kinds of behaviours.
The robot can be used for various applications in different fields and operational environments. This can thus improve the workforce needs and achieve greater operational efficiency through a single robotic platform. In the long-term, this will enable government agencies to build a strong ops-tech ecosystem and continue enhancing public health and safety.
The project is a collaboration between HTX, National Environment Agency, Land Transport Authority (LTA), Singapore Food Agency (SFA), and Housing and Development Board.
