Thai police took advantage of the Songkran festival to reveal a funny colleague: a police robot with artificial intelligence, called “AI Police Cyborg 1.0”. Behind this extension name, a static machine mounted on casters, with a very science fiction look, supposed to strengthen security during the festivities.
High-tech security or simple gadget?
Equipped with 360-degree wide-angle cameras, the robot is not just a pretty technological trinket. It is connected to the surveillance cameras and the drones present on the site, to centralize everything and analyze live. If a fight breaks out, if an individual takes out a knife, or if a person wanted by the police is spotted, the robot is supposed to lift the alert immediately.
Thanks to his facial recognition tools, he can spot a face in the crowd and associate it with a signage sheet. He is also able to differentiate a serious threat from a water pistol – a crucial point during Songkran where water jets are everywhere.
Developed by the police of the province of Nakhon Pathom, region 7 of the provincial police and the local municipality, the AI Police Cyborg 1.0 is connected in real time to the province’s command center. But beware, despite all this paraphernalia, he remains nailed to his station: no independent patrol, no action film. All he can do is monitor and send alerts to human agents. A connected camera, in a way …
With this first police robot, Thailand follows a regional trend: a little earlier, the country also launched a biometric system to follow migrant workers. The idea is to modernize surveillance, with AI in support. But inevitably, it doesn’t appeal to everyone. NGOs sound the alarm: between reinforced surveillance, the use of software spies against non -governmental organizations and a still wobbly legal framework (the draft royal decree on AI is pending), the country is advancing faster on techno than on the protection of freedoms.
And then, even on the practical side, some wonder. Okay, the robot is able to identify suspicious behavior. But since he cannot move or interact, his usefulness in a critical situation remains to be demonstrated. Today, it is difficult to know if Ai Police Cyborg 1.0 is a real safety tool, a technological showcase, or a marketing stroke.
Meanwhile, other countries like China are already deploying mobile police robots capable of dialogue with citizens. Thailand is still at the stage of the ultra-connected fixed camera. The robot is pretty on a festival square, it impresses passers -by … but its real role in public security will still have to prove itself!
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