Real-life RoboCop can shoot spike strips at car wheels
Published on May 17, 2022 at 11:01 AM (UTC+4)
by Patrick Jackson
Last updated on May 17, 2022 at 11:01 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
A real-life RoboCop with metal arms that turn into spike strips could soon patrol streets and pull over drivers.
The robot is built by SRI International and has a goal to “keep everyone safe”.
We’ve all seen the horrific dashcam videos of police traffic stops that go wrong.
This traffic stop robot could be the solution.
It keeps police officers inside cars and not standing on the edge of busy freeways.
And it means less chance of violence between police and motorists.
The robot prototype is stuck to the side of the police car on metal rails.
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It even has an old-school black police helmet on top of a screen.
The screen shows the face of the officer back in the car.
It might look a bit strange in the prototype stage, but the concept works.
When police stop a car, the robot slides forward to the driver’s window of the vehicle that has been pulled over.
It then adjusts to be at the right height.
The officer can then speak to the driver they’ve pulled over, telling them why they were stopped.
The robot can scan a barcode on the back of the driver’s license to pull their details.
There’s also a touchpad for the driver to sign their signature on, and a printer that spits out fines.
READ MORE: Driverless car takes off after baffled cops try to pull it over
Of course, you might be wondering what would stop you from driving off.
Well, a spike strip is built into an extendable arm on the robot.
It’s there underneath the wheel, ready to slash their rear tire if they do a runner.
When driving around with the robot cop, it does look a bit sketchy the way it is stuck onto the police car.
But this is just a prototype – the company says a next-generation traffic stop robot is in the works.
This one would be mounted to the front of the car and is smaller.
It would be able to reach both the driver and passenger side of the stopped vehicle.
While we are here talking robots, why not rank the best movie robots of all time.
Top 5 movie robots
- T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgement Day (not Arnold, the one that turns into liquid metal is way cooler)
- Optimus Prime – The Transformers series (narrowly beating out Starscream)
- RoboCop – The original, not the new one
- R2D2 – Star Wars, no explanation needed
- Wall-E – because not everything needs to be an action movie
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A car zealot from a young age, Patrick has put his childhood spent obsessing over motoring magazines and TV shows to good use over the past six years as a journalist. Fuelled by premium octane coffee, he’s contributed to Finder, DriveTribe, WhichCar, Vehicle History and Drive Section.
