Robot Deployed In Singapore Park To Remind Residents Of Social Distancing Orders

Governments around the world have been turning to technology to enforce quarantine related measures, including drones, robots, and advanced surveillance tracking. At the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park in Singapore, authorities deployed a four-legged robot named Spot, which was created by Boston Dynamics. The robot is roaming the park as a part of a two-week trial, to see if the robot could help enforce social distancing measures because machines are less likely to spread germs than human enforcers.

The robot patrols the park broadcasting prerecorded messages “to remind park visitors to observe safe distancing measures.”

A sign was posted in the park warning visitors not to interfere with the robot’s duties.

While the current deployment is just a test run, city officials are planning on placing similar robots in other areas if they decide that the trial was successful. Authorities have promised that they won’t be using the robot to collect any data, and that it is just being used to broadcast warnings to people, but it has capabilities to collect audio, video and other data.