Robot traffic cops are here and China just put one to work in the middle of Shanghai

Police in China have introduced a robot traffic cop to their force to help maintain traffic flow on busy Shanghai roads.

The unarmed Robocop is tasked with keeping both motorists and pedestrians in order. 

Footage was shared online showing the robot traffic cop working at a busy intersection in the Huangpu District.  

The humanoid bot has even been kitted out in a police uniform, complete with a helmet, so he looks the real deal.

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The robot traffic cop has been deployed on a busy intersection

Once only found in science fiction, robotic technology has come a long way over the last few years, from humanoid bots, like Tesla’s Optimus, to this handy little Hyundai robot that helps park cars. 

And over in China, the first robot traffic cop has been unleashed onto the streets of Shanghai. 

The humanoid bot is named Xiao Hu, meaning ‘Little Tiger’, and is currently in a trial phase according to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau’s Traffic Management Department. 

Clips of the robot traffic cop shared online showed it wearing a white helmet and sporting an eye-catching yellow outfit trimmed with LEDs. 

The bot can be seen giving out voice instructions to pedestrians, including “Red light, please stop.”

It also made hand signals to help direct people across the busy intersection. 

As well as directing both foot and vehicle traffic, the robot can answer basic traffic-related questions. 

The robot has been developed over four years and is still undergoing testing. 

For now, the robot has been introduced as a trial, rather than an official deployment. 

“The robot’s appearance was part of a real-world learning exercise for traffic management scenarios,” Shanghai Public Security Bureau’s Traffic Management Department said.

The department went on to say that the bot represents ‘a new technological approach to traffic control’, seemingly suggesting that we could be seeing more of the robots out on the streets of the city in the future.

Indonesia has an entire fleet of robocops

China isn’t the first country to add a bot to its police force. 

Over in Indonesia, officials added an entire fleet of robots, made up of humanoid cops and robotic dogs ready to detect bombs, zero in on narcotics networks, and direct traffic.

A total of 25 robots have been introduced to the force, including I-K9 dog-shaped bots and more familiar-looking humanoids. 

The bots can carry out a range of tasks and are even trained to march, salute, and run.

The future is here, and it’s robotic.

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