Dubai's first robot police officer soon to roam streets

The first police robot is set to roam the streets of Dubai on Tuesday, after it was unveiled at a conference for security technology.

On Sunday, Dubai police unveiled its first ‘Robocop’, a police robot, designed to identify crime and petty offenses.

The ‘Robocop’, named the Dubai Police Robot was presented at the ongoing Gulf Information and Security Expo and Conference (GISEC) in Dubai, which was set to take place between May 21 - May 23.

Dubai Police Robot will be used at mall and tourist sites where people can tap a touchscreen on the robot’s chest and pay fines, or report crimes to, so far, delegate to human police service-people.

However, UAE officials hope that the robot’s participation in the police force will increase with time, as technology advances.

“The robot has a smart intelligence system so it can protect people from crime, because it can broadcast what is happening right away to our command and control centre,” Brig Al Razooqi, Dubai Police director general of smart services said.

The Dubai Police Robot is currently bilingual. It can speak Arabic and English but its advertisers say it will soon learn other languages such as Russian Chinese, French, and Spanish.

The GISEC was orchestrated to “bring together over 6,000 top security professionals to discover cutting-edge solutions, share insights with industry experts and equip themselves with the right tools to protect their businesses from rapidly-evolving cyber attackers.”

Dubai authorities are emphasising on military technology because they are looking to replace 25 percent of police staff by robots by 2030.