Technology is mainly seen as an assistant in our lives, but now it’s being used to protect us with security systems, traffic cameras, and now police officers.  Last May, the Dubai Police Force implemented one of PAL Robotics’ REEM units to serve as robotic police officer. The Spanish company PAL developed REEM in 2010, but at it wasn’t until GITEX 2016 that the police saw how capable this robot really is.  

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This unarmed android is equipped with multiple cameras and facial recognition software capable of scanning accurately up to twenty feet.  It can recognize criminals and identify liscense plates that are stored in the police database which it can access via Wi-Fi. It also is efficient indoors because it has a motion detector allows it to map the places it has walked through.

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It is designed to be approachable and it can currently communicate using eight different supported languages, including Arabic and English.  You can also use the tablet-like interface on its chest to report a crime or use its card reader to pay a traffic ticket. It can make human-like gestures such as shaking hands with another person or saluting and it is capable of lifting one kilogram. by hand or supporting thirty kilograms on its rear platform.  REEM is based on a version of Ubuntu and is equipped with two swappable forty-eight-volt batteries that last four hours each. It can reach a top speed of four kilometers per hour. A full list of specifications can be found Pal Robotics’ website.

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These robots do not take sick days or holidays, so they can continue to keep people safe 24/7.  They have proven to be so effective at deterring crime and recognizing criminals that the city of Dubai plans to add more so that in 2030, they will make up one quarter of their police force.