A robot developed to serve as a security guard at train stations was shown to the press Thursday amid a growing need to boost safety in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
Equipped with a security camera powered by artificial intelligence, the robot can detect and report suspicious persons or objects at stations and is expected to help lower burdens on staff.
It is named "Perseusbot" after Greek mythological hero Perseus and is 167.5 centimeters tall, 61 cm wide and 90.5 cm long. The robot will be tested at Seibu Shinjuku Station in Tokyo between Nov. 26 and 30.
The robot can avoid obstacles and travel over uneven pavement during patrols.
It can send alerts to the smartphones of security staff if it discovers objects left unattended for a long time or if it captures aggressive movements by individuals that could lead to conflict.
It was jointly developed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Technology Research Institute, Seibu Railway Co., information technology firm Nihon Unisys Ltd. and AI camera developer Earth Eyes.