This 125-kg (276-lb) robotic ball looks – and acts – like it could've broken free from the Batpod. It's a self-balancing sphere that can chase down criminals at up to 35 km/h (22 mph) on land or water, and strike with a range of non-lethal weapons.
The base platform has been under development for many years, commercialized as the Rotunbot RT-G through a company called Logon Technology. The company says it moves fairly quietly, using gyroscopic self-stabilization to keep its wide contact patch in touch with the ground.
It runs all kinds of sensors, including GPS for positioning, and multiple cameras and ultrasonic sensors so it can see the environment around it, avoid rolling into people and other obstacles, and track threats and targets.
China's police now have a new support: a spherical patrol robot that can hit 30 km/h in just 2.5 seconds. Inspired by a concept originally in Mercury probe project, this high-speed machine is ready to roll on both land and water. #FutureChina pic.twitter.com/q0sdEkYfxB
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) December 14, 2024
It's robust enough to take a whack, making it capable of dropping off knee-high ledges or presumably rolling down staircases. It can easily handle mud, slush and mild offroad conditions – at least, til the cameras get dirty – and it's also waterproof and buoyant, so it'll happily roll into a river and back out again if need be.
It's currently out on trial with police patrols in a commercial zone in Wenzhou, in Zhejiang province on the southeast coast of China. For police purposes, according to China's Global Times, it's been upgraded with some appropriate crime-fighting gadgets: tear gas, smoke bombs, horns, acoustic crowd dispersers, and net shooters to tangle up and take down suspects at close range.
Watching the videos, it appears the robot police ball is currently operating under remote control, although autonomy is certainly on the menu here as things progress.
The Chinese company #Logon Technology has recently presented the RT-G spherical police robot, designed to move both on land and in water and pursue criminals#Future #Prospective #humanity #NewWorld #robotic #TechTrends pic.twitter.com/ipxLohvF83
— AAMC (@docangelmtz1) November 13, 2024
It seems rather wobbly when making turns, and none of the videos seem to make it look particularly difficult to run away from. Indeed, an enterprising crook need simply go up some stairs, and robo-ball will be left at the bottom cursing.
On the other hand, there are a number of applications for existing police robots, particularly around non-lethal takedown of dangerous offenders, where this machine might prove more capable than current tech – and this is the first security/police bot we've seen that's explicitly designed with pursuit in mind.
Source: Rotunbot
