By the end of the year, Dubai’s police force will have a new recruit patrolling the streets: a self-driving car that acts a mobile surveillance unit. The vehicle is about the size of a child’s toy electric buggy, reports Gulf News, and is equipped with 360-degree cameras that “scan for wanted criminals and undesirables” — presumably using facial recognition technology.
The bot is built by Singapore-based start-up OTSAW Digital, and its proper name is the O-R3. OTSAW says Dubai will be the first city in the world to use the O-R3 for everyday patrols, noting that the robot isn’t intended to replace human police officers, but to “fulfill low-level order enforcement tasks.” As well as all-seeing cameras, the O-R3 can charge itself automatically, and comes equipped with an onboard drone to follow individuals to places where the bot can’t drive.
In a press statement, the commander of the Dubai Police Force, Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, said: “We seek to augment operations with the help of technology such as robots. Essentially, we aim for streets to be safe and peaceful even without heavy police patrol.” The bot will be deployed in tourist locations first.
The introduction of O-R3 is par for the course for Dubai, which says it wants 25 percent of its police force to be robots by 2030. As this bot shows, though, the term “robot” can cover a wide range of devices. In terms of functionality, the O-R3 isn’t much difference from the likes of the Knightscope K5, a water cooler-sized security bot, or other telepresence machines. And considering the fact that Dubai’s previous high-tech purchases have included jetpacks for firefighters and autonomous quadcopters, the O-R3 is sensible by comparison.
Comments
As if Dubai wasn’t enough of a dystopian hell-hole.
By 9801326 on 06.29.17 12:23pm
Huh? Have you ever been to Dubai? What an ignorant comment to make.
By MA2756AM on 06.29.17 12:49pm
I know enough about it to know that it’s a decent encapsulation of everything wrong with globalism condensed into an extremely hot, corrupt, lifeless city. Why so defensive?
By 9801326 on 06.29.17 1:07pm
Because you called a city that you have never been to a hellhole. What makes Dubai a hellhole but not any other major city in the world? Extremely hot? like phoenix, Arizona?What is corrupt about it exactly? Dubai is a major tourist location so I would not describe it as "lifeless". Again, your comment is ignorant because you have not been there and clearly know very little about it but you outright described it as a "dystopian hell-hole" which by the way has nothing to do with this story.
By MA2756AM on 06.29.17 1:35pm
Well, it doesn’t "feel" like a paradise for poor workers nor for the ladies. Appart from that, it might be a good place to go to if you have money and like sky scrappers and air conditionner
By lossendae on 06.29.17 1:45pm
"feel"? Are you a poor worker in dubai or a lady there? Maybe you are one of the over 45 million slaves in the world. Yes, there are problems with bad labor conditions and other things that tourists never witness while there but if you have money to live there then it should be the same as any other tourist location. The same for women especially foreigners in the tourism locations you can wear bikinis, drink alcohol and do whatever you want. The citizens of dubai are rich. The people that are treated badly are the workers that come from other countries.
By MA2756AM on 06.29.17 2:03pm
So, you just completely agreed with "lessendae" about the appalling conditions for the poor and for women, but you dismissed them because it’s a tourist destination and as long as you have money while you’re there, it’s no big deal – you’ll "never have to witness it".
That’s fantastic.
By The Real DMC on 06.29.17 2:29pm
I never dismissed them and where did I say that there "appalling conditions" for wome? All I said was foreign workers are treated badly like slavery which exists here in the US as well…it is silly to call a city a "dystopian hell-hole" when you know nothing about it.
Dubai citizens and tourist live very well but foreign workers are treated badly just like here in the US.
By MA2756AM on 06.29.17 3:39pm
It is a dystopian hell-hole as he mentioned in the original comment. It is a decent encapsulation of everything wrong that globalism can do. A bad role model of a city.
And I like globalism (in some ways).
By oneneo on 06.29.17 4:21pm
Every city has its ugly side but they are not "dystopian hell-hole" and if your barrier of entry to a dystopian hellhole is "globalism" then I really hope you live in a hole under a rock.
By MA2756AM on 06.30.17 1:02am
DID you miss the bit where I mention I like globalism?
By oneneo on 06.30.17 7:13am
You can’t pick and choose with globalism, if you are part of it then you are contributing to the good AND the bad. Like I said, I hope your city is lovely and you don’t live under a rock. Where is that by the way?
By MA2756AM on 06.30.17 10:07am
Yes you can pick and choose with globalism. There are ways to compromise everything. So in my personal opinion I like the good ways of globalism and unfortunately cringe at its bad stuff.
Knowing about my city is going to prove your point? Its as if you are selectively reading comments. There are issues everywhere which does not mean we should not point them out.
By oneneo on 06.30.17 4:05pm
It is going to show me how globalism works there.
What are the good ways and what are the bad stuff?
Globalism affects everyone (hence the term) and singling out one city is just inherent bias and plain stupid.
By MA2756AM on 06.30.17 4:20pm
two negatives don’t make a positive, FAAAIIILLLL!!!!
By teeson on 06.29.17 11:42pm
I know but also being ignorant does not make you right.
By MA2756AM on 06.30.17 1:03am
I know, I am some kind of dumb individual who can’t condone behaviours from one the wealthiest country in the world, just because slavery and segregation exists elsewhere in the world.
All in all you just confirmed that Dubai promoters hire foreign worker that they treat badly. And you’re ok with that.
By lossendae on 06.29.17 3:54pm
Where did I say I was "ok with that"? Where did I say that I am ok with slavery in the USA or India or China or any of the multitude of African nations?
Did you answer any of my questions in my previous comment? No…why not?
By MA2756AM on 06.29.17 3:59pm
Nothing to do with this story? It’s an article about a police robot that seeks out and identifies ‘undesirables’. Have you read a book? Merits of the city itself aside, anyone with a basic understanding of privacy and abuse of power would be concerned with this at the very least.
It’s clear that your hobbies, wide-reaching enough to include making facile arguments in comments sections and apparently extreme tourism, are not contributing to your ability to think critically. If you’d like, I can put together a reading list to get you started!
By 9801326 on 06.29.17 2:23pm
Don’t try to dodge what you said.
You said:
Meaning that is what you thought Dubai is before this police robot. You need a reading list about Dubai because you clearly know nothing about it or its people and make stupid/ignorant claims about an entire city that you have never visited and probably never even spoke to someone from there but I will let you get back to your "reading list". While you are at it grab yourself a few strawberries that were picked by cheap immigrant labor that are treated like shit. Let me know when you get off your high horse before you call other cities a "dystopian hell hole".
You also never answered any of my questions so nice doge.
By MA2756AM on 06.29.17 3:44pm
Was that an intentional misspelling there? Seems like someone who likes the word dodge so much should be able to spell it.
As for your questions: Dubai is notoriously unbearably hot, much hotter than anywhere in the United States, on average. (FYI Miami is hotter on average than Phoenix, and tends to be comfortable year-round).
Corruption comes in a few forms. You admitted yourself that there are major human rights abuses going on that are allowed to occur in the country in the name of rapid development. This travesty alone should be enough to convince a rational person that the basis of the city’s economy is morally dubious. Other examples abound.
Nice ‘dodge’ yourself not addressing the robocop in question.
By 9801326 on 06.29.17 4:14pm
Really, now you are hung up on grammar?
Dubai is not unbearably hot the average HIGH temperature is around 105 F in summer ( the rest of the year is around 70-95F), the average high temperature in phoenix, Arizona is also around 105 F in the summer (that is called a dessert smh), the average high temperature in Miami, FL is around 90F in the summer so you are wrong and obviously it is not unbearable because there are people living there and it is a popular tourism location.
That is not corruption LoL Human rights abuses is not called corruption. There is also human rights abuses in the united states in the form of modern slavery (who do you think picks your strawberries?) The USA has over 8 million unauthorized immigrants working in the US (How do you think they are treated? getting the minimum wage?) in comparison the entire population of Dubai is 2.8 Million.
So before calling other cities a "dystopian hellhole" how about you read a book for once in your life? you can’t even defend your own ignorant and ridiculous comment.
By MA2756AM on 06.29.17 5:26pm
Wow, you really just go on and on, don’t you? Spelling != grammar.
Makes sense, though, cuase you’re just trolling right?
By 9801326 on 06.30.17 12:47pm
Spelling is a subset of grammar smh
If you have nothing of value to say then don’t say anything at all. Also, learn how to quote properly.
By MA2756AM on 06.30.17 2:27pm
I also dislike it’s method of recruiting construction labour from poor villages in India, Pakistan and close by countries. Those men have their passports taken from them and don’t have the ways and means to get back to their country. They have to work in horrendous conditions with limited independence.
Its a shitty way to do things. And yes Apple uses Chinese labor, bla bla. I agree what they do is shitty too so don;t need to bring that up. I dont want to hear equivalent issues in other parts of the world to normalise everything.
By oneneo on 06.29.17 4:19pm