Beijing Deploys Robot Officers for Cleaning to Security Patrols Amid High Temperatures

Robot officers with ID Intelligent Police Unit R001 are on duty on the highway in China. (Source: Xinhua)

JAKARTA - Beijing authorities, China deployed 72 'robot officers' with various abilities to 14 city parks in various locations in the midst of high temperatures this summer.

The robots were given various tasks, ranging from cleaning and security patrols to tour guides and pest control, amid high temperatures, the state-run Global Times media reported, quoted by Anadolu (14/8).

At the Summer Palace, cleaning robots equipped with lidars and sensors can start operating within 30 seconds of the cleaning staff determining the work area and selecting the cleaning mode via a mobile application.

These machines are capable of sweeping away garbage, spraying water, cleaning the edge area, and automatically adjusting the intensity of cleaning based on the amount of garbage detected.

In addition, these robots are also designed with the ability to avoid pedestrians and vehicles.

The park has also introduced a tourist guide robot that provides information along the predetermined route, answers visitors' questions, and reminds crowds to maintain order.

Meanwhile, at Yuyuantan Park, there are currently 11 robots operating, including a 1.5-meter-tall patrol robot equipped with more than 10 artificial intelligence models, radar, and cameras.

The robot is able to identify behaviors such as smoking and issue a pre-recorded voice warning.

Meanwhile, at Zizhuyuan Park, the authorities deployed mosquito-catching robots that mimic the carbon dioxide emissions from human breath to attract the insects' attention.

The robot program started in 2024, when Beijing launched its first "robot + landscaping" pilot project in Yuyuantan Park.

It is known that over the past two years, 23 robotic devices from 18 companies have undergone field trials at the site, and the technology that has proven to be successful has gradually been expanded to other parks.

The newly deployed water weed cleaning robot is also capable of cutting, collecting, slicing, transporting, and disassembling vegetation, both when operated remotely and autonomously.

Authorities plan to integrate operational data from robots in various parks to improve monitoring and expand the use of robotic technology in urban landscaping and park management.