Police robots protect officers and community

An upgraded Queensland Police Service robot has been implemented to improve community and officer safety.

In 2011, the prototype was built by specialist police and was designed to be operated remotely to force entry to barricaded buildings, thus protecting officers.

The robot can be used in a crisis situation, with some of the smaller robots now being used by police negotiators across Queensland.

The larger, upgraded robot reduces the complexity of control so the operators can focus on policing objectives and strategy more efficiently.

“The latest model robot was deployed for the first time on Thursday to an incident at Eagleby and is ready to roll into action with the SERT team at a moment’s notice,” said Minister for Police Mark Ryan.

The QPS and Deakin University are nationally leading this use of force option in software and engineering development.

“There were no commercially available robots to complete the heavy tasks required by the Special Emergency Response Team (SERT), which is when the team’s technical surveillance unit discussed a joint project with Deakin University’s Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation in 2013,” said Commissioner Ian Stewart.

“The most recent, upgraded model was received by our SERT team in January this year. It has not just equipped officers to force doors and windows using a remotely controlled, steady mechanical force but has additionally provided the remote capability and size to pull victims from harm’s way.

“The ability to observe potentially dangerous situations via remote camera functions or deliver and retrieve items from a safe position are added invaluable functions.”

The ‘OzBot’ series of police robots has been under development for 15 years and form part of a network-centric ecosystem, in which an operator can control one or many robots at the same time using advanced control software.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/ChiccoDodiFC

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