Singapore's Airport Police Division trials autonomous patrol robot that doubles up as transport option

SINGAPORE: Two scooter-like automatons marked with the Singapore Police Force (SPF) logo have been making the rounds at Changi Airport’s Terminal 4 (T4) in recent weeks.

These are not your typical cleaning or tray collection droids that you see at shopping malls, but actually new patrol robots being trialled in T4’s departure area by the Airport Police Division.

The robots, which have been on trial since early July, have two functions. They serve as autonomous patrol robots and also provide a “ride-hailing” service for airport police officers.

Officers can summon the devices to their locations, before riding on them to get to their intended destinations within the airport quickly.

The GIBSON robot – named after the inventor of the first motorised scooter, Arthur Hugo Cecil Gibson – was developed by the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) in collaboration with the A*STAR Institute for Infocomm Research.

Both of GIBSON’s functions were demonstrated to the media at T4 on Wednesday (Jul 16).  

The device stands at about chest height and has handlebars and a platform for riders to stand on.

The operational speed of the robot will be determined during the trial period. The length of the trial, as well as which parts of the airport the robots will eventually be deployed in, have not yet been made public.

In autonomous patrol mode, it stopped whenever people walked in front of it. It also made detours to an intended location if an obstacle stood in its way. 

GIBSON is equipped with cameras, 3D light detection, sound navigation and other features that allow it to determine its location and safely navigate indoor environments and avoid collisions, SPF and HTX said in a joint statement. 

In its “ride” mode, GIBSON can be used as a means of ride-hailing by officers. Using an internal phone application, officers can call the robot to come to where they are autonomously. 

An airport police officer showed how he could use the application to summon the robot, and subsequently boarded it to move around the airport using manual controls such as the handlebars.

But not just anyone can ride it.

To take control of the robot, an officer has to use a personal key. This ensures that members of the public cannot abuse or ride on the device. If a member of the public stands in GIBSON’s way, it may also use a horn. 

“Officers riding the GIBSON can traverse large indoor areas swiftly, thereby improving incident response time while enhancing their mobility and operational readiness within the airport,” said SPF and HTX.  

During the demonstration, CNA observed that the robot moved at about walking speed.

Speaking to the media after, the Airport Police Division’s operations officer for planning and readiness Patrick Pang said the ride-hailing function makes it convenient for officers to summon GIBSON without having to manually search for it. 

Ms Seah Qi Yan, a ground systems engineer at HTX’s Robotics, Automation and Unmanned Systems Centre of Expertise, said GIBSON was a step up from robots that typically only conduct autonomous patrols. 

“We hope to create more integrated robotic systems that respond dynamically to both environmental cues and input from Home Team officers,” said Ms Seah. 

The police in 2023 rolled out robots which cannot be ridden but can help patrol premises autonomously.