Friendly ‘robocop’ helps police in Hungary

Atalkative little robot has been enlisted by police in Hungary to helpbring an electric jolt to presentations in schools and pensioner clubs.“Hi kids!” said robot “Robi” to a class of primary schoolchildren in Szolnok, 100km (60 miles) east of Budapest.“Some things you need to be careful with when using the Internet...” he continued.About40m tall and 20cm wide (16” by 8”), and weighing 1.6kg (3.5 pounds),Robi’s 16-part body stood on a table, gesturing as he talks.“Itgrabs the attention more if a robot is talking,” Robi’s programmer CsabaErdos, a police educational instructor, told AFP. “It’s a new way ofcommunicating and presenting.”Robi has been operational in theJasz-Nagykun-Szolnok county since May, and Erdos, 38, said there areplans to have similar robots jumping into action soon around thecountry.Most weeks Erdos takes Robi with him to help atpresentations to schoolkids and elderly people on themes like crimeprevention, digital security and road safety.During a break torecharge – after 30 minutes of talking Robi needed more power – one boyat the Tiszaparti school told AFP that he hadn’t seen a talking robotbefore, apart from in the Transformers cartoon.“His voice took a while to get used to but I loved it, he was very clever,” said 10-year-old Milan Markus.After the talk, the children laughed as they all tried to mirror his robot moves.Occasionally Robi also greets reporters at press conferences, where he gives advice on how to avoid crimes like break-ins.He can even answer questions, “as long as they are pre-programmed”, said Erdos.Sporting a police logo on his chest, the friendly Robi can also help engender trust in the police, Erdos said.“Robotscan be a force for good, helping and supporting people, rather thanreplacing or threatening them, as they are sometimes portrayed infilms,” he said.