Model causes a stir
Like from the future: China presents bizarre police robots
12/15/2024 – 2:01 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
A ball robot designed to support the police was presented for the first time in China. It should also be able to communicate with other robots.
Chinese developers have created a police robot that looks like something out of a science fiction film. In the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, a unit of special police officers was spotted patrolling the busy streets – accompanied by a spherical robot. Footage of the robot quickly went viral.
“This 'agile stand-up man' is our new member,” Huang Sufeng, deputy commander of a special patrol police unit, told China's Xinhua News Agency. The ball is said to weigh 160 kilograms and have a diameter of 0.8 meters.
The robot was developed for operations in close quarters, including counter-terrorism missions, it is said. It can reach a speed of 30 kilometers per hour in just 2.5 seconds and can be equipped with police equipment, Huang said. Videos show how it can move in water and on stationary terrain. He is also said to be able to cast nets on suspects. Several robots should also be able to work together.
The robot's developers originally had in mind a machine that could be used on the surface of the planet Mercury. “Mercury is a planet with extreme temperature fluctuations due to its proximity to the Sun,” Wang You, an associate professor at Zhejiang University, told Xinhua.
In 2017, Wang and his team founded with this idea. Finally, they realized the concept of the spherical robot, which features fast rolling movements, advanced motion control, and amphibious and autonomous driving characteristics.
A pendulum that is connected to the motor swings in the robot. This makes it possible for the ball to move in any direction.
“The spherical robot can roll with minimal effort and requires no additional friction,” Wang explained. “It is also more energy efficient than a walking robot and can work continuously for up to 10 hours or cover 120 kilometers.”
