|
ROBOTS TO PATROL THE STREETS IN FUTURE BRITAIN
Report by Taylor Herring Public Relations Ltd.
NEW study by a
top UK Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics predicts
the UK will use robots in a bid to crack down on the crime plaguing
the country’s streets in the next 75 years. The streets of the
UK are set to be patrolled by a series of inter-linking robots
designed to cut crime, detect weapons, and free up police officers
time, all whilst saving the government money, according to a new
research project released today.
The report, commissioned to mark the DVD release of Terminator:- The
Sarah Connor Chronicles predicts that by 2084 advanced humanoid
robots made from inorganic material will have human like features
and expressions and will be able to arrest humans with a substantial
constraining force due to their super-strength and inability to feel
pain. They will also be able to detect weapons including guns,
knives and explosives, as well as recognising drunks and aggressive
behaviour in large areas.
Artificial Intelligence and robotics expert Professor Noel Sharkey
of the University of Sheffield embarked on a study to investigate
the evolution of robots in the UK and how they will be used in our
society over the next 80 years. Professor Sharkey undertook a
two-month project to examine the future of the robot in the UK and
how it will be developed to aide police and cut down on crime. His
research fundamentally draws on the very latest and future robotic
developments in Japan, China, South Korea, Israel, USA and UK and
builds upon current ideas and trends from professionals in the field
from around the world.
Central to his observations are superior knowledge robots that will
have access to integrated databases of information on British
citizens including bank accounts, tax, motoring, shopping, criminal
records and movements, enabling them to instantaneously identify who
people are.
The report notes that crime in the UK could be drastically reduced
with the introduction of these robots that will have the ability to
detect weapons, sniff out explosives, and arrest where necessary.
These androids could be a welcome addition to the British police
force and will make the jobs of police officers safer, quicker and
easier when it comes to deterring and de-arming suspects.
The research also predicts that autonomous police cars will appear
by 2070. These cars will be able to recognise speeding cars,
identify license plates and automatically deduct fines from bank
accounts at the same time as adding points on driving licenses.
Robots will also have the ability to conduct on the spot drink and
drug tests in the view to cutting down driving under the influence.
But he also notes the damers that the new technology may introduce
in terms of a reduction in privacy and basic human rights for
individual citizens.
Future robotics will also be widely used for crowd control, strikes
and riots and will be able to track crowds by tagging them and using
a network of cameras across the UK to monitor their activity. China
has already developed a police robot – the Dragon Guard X3 - to be
introduced at the Beijing Olympics later this summer, which will be
used alongside their police force. According to The People’s Daily,
China has recently unveiled an armed robot for use at the Olympics
in crowd control.
However, the research suggests that this may well lead to public
outrage as robots will have access to integrated databases of all
information of citizens including bank accounts, tax, motoring,
shopping, criminal records and movements, making them more advanced
than the US Total Information Awareness and MATRIX (Multistate
anti-Terrorism Information Exchange) systems – both of which were
closed due to public outrage and breach of liberty, privacy laws and
human rights.
With the public outcry against the ‘Big Brother’ CCTV and
surveillance system throughout the UK, and technology developing at
an alarming rate, the British Government will have to decide whether
robots will be beneficial in the long run at reducing crime rates
and saving money. Many people are aware of the danger of
sleepwalking in to a world where robots have become indispensable to
service our needs, monitor and police our country and fight wars for
us.
30 years from now
* Widespread use of robot police patrolling the streets with
autonomous functions to free human police officers for duty and
reduce costs
* Robots will sit
passively in town centres and crime hot spots on the look out for
potential trouble and danger
* Robots will monitor
sudden scene changes, such as the appearance of a crowd or group
* Robots will use
audio and vision systems to determine a group of drunks, aggressive
shouting, standoffs and extreme physical contact.
...continued... |
...continued...
* Such robots will
alert a human operator who will survey the scene and decide the best
course of action through a series of questions and dispatch aerial
and ground robotic back up if required
* Humanoid walking
robots will have reasonable speech perception and will have the
ability to ask questions and respond to answers
* Humanoid robots
will be used for crowd control at sports matches, strikes and riots
and will replace bouncers and security guards at nightclubs and
shops
* Robots will have
the ability to spray a crowd with RFID tag darts so that people can
be tracked after the crowd has dispersed, and if arrests are to be
made, robots will be used for biometric ID checks and will be able
to identify who you are from face, retina and fingerprint
recognition
60 years from now
* Much more extensive use of robots with naturalistic facial
expressions and body gestures for dealing with the public
* Traffic wardens
will be replaced by autonomous robotic ticketing machines who will
be able to detect cars without valid tickets and cars which are
parked in an unauthorized position
* Robots will have
extended sensing that will allow them to link up to each other
through a series of networks, thus enabling them to have multiple
distributed eyes across the UK and act as one machine in unison and
act as one commands and will be able to swarm when necessary
* The first autonomous police cars will be on the roads tracking
down speeding cars, joy riders and other traffic crimes
* Autonomous police
cars will be able to identify license plates and automatically
deduct fines from bank accounts within seconds, and as they have no
need for a driver, they will be able to chase suspected criminals on
the roads without the danger of harming a police office behind the
wheel
80 years from now
* Advanced squidgy
humanoid and android police robots made
from inorganic materials suck as silicon or polymers with human
features and expressions will emerge and they will have such strong
force that they will be used to arrest dangerous humans saving the
potential risk of life to humans in the armed forces
* Humanoid robots
will be used to restrain and arrest drunken people who pose a threat
to society and will be able to ‘see’ across the UK through a series
of surveillance cameras to monitor situations and people
* Robots will be
equipped with biometric tools enabling them to conduct DNA testing
and use heart rate, respiration and temperature to sense and wrong
doing and possible guilt
* Robots will be able
to sniff out explosives and detect weapons such as knives and guns
and they will be able to conduct on the spot drink and drug testing
and make arrests where necessary
* Tiny polymer robots
with cameras attached will be sprayed in to dense, populated areas
as well as private dwellings of suspected criminals to monitor
movements and report back to a bigger robot system where further
action can be taken if called for
The Future of Robotics report was researched and prepared by
Professor Noel Sharkey of Sheffield University.
Professor Sharkey comments:- “Hollywood movies and TV shows
such as Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles have been dismissed
as fantastical over the years, but this report, based on existing
research and current technological developments, suggests that
robots will play a much bigger role in society over the next 75
years than previously anticipated.
These robot developments could be extremely beneficial in the
protection of citizens and police in the hands of benevolent
governments. But in the wrong hands, as warned in the Terminator:
The Sarah Connor Chronicles, robot law enforcement could be a major
blow to individual privacy and basic human rights.”
The robots themselves will not be super-intelligent and will not be
motivated to take over themselves, but those who control the robots
will control society. If we let my my predictions come true,
the reach of the law will be overly long and it will be possible to
enforce trivial and arbitrary laws.
We would love to get your views on this
report, so please email them to:-
news24@southportreporter.com. |
