Hangzhou’s humanoid robot traffic cop hits streets in China

A 1.8-metre-tall (5-ft 11-in) humanoid traffic officer, dubbed Hangxing No. 1, has begun directing traffic at the busy intersection of Binsheng Road and Changhe Road in Hangzhou’s Binjiang District, China. The robot is assisting with buses, cars, and bicycles, monitoring violations, and issuing verbal warnings to those who break traffic rules.

Equipped with high-definition cameras and sensors, Hangxing No. 1 can blow a whistle and is integrated with the intersection’s traffic light system, allowing it to respond to light changes. While the robot currently performs standard “stop” and “go” motions and can identify riders without helmets, jaywalkers, and other intersection rule-breakers, it is designed to support, rather than replace, human officers, New Atlas reports.

Police officials plan to enhance Hangxing No. 1 with large language model (LLM) capabilities, enabling it to offer directions and engage more actively with pedestrians and road users.

“The robot has already become popular with pedestrians,” said a representative of the Hangzhou Traffic Police Tactical Unit, which launched the pilot program at the start of December.

Hangxing No. 1 is not China’s first robotic traffic officer. Shenzhen streets host the EngineAI PM01, while Wenzhou rolled out Logan Technology’s RT-G spherical bot last December. Chengdu also introduced its own humanoid traffic cop in June to assist on busy western city streets.

The evolution of robotic traffic officers has been rapid. The first notable model, the AnBot, began duty at Shenzhen airport in September 2016. Resembling a hybrid of a Dalek and a bar fridge, it was cutting-edge at the time. “Given the pace of robotics development, the Hangxing No. 1 may become obsolete not in nine years, but possibly within one or two,” experts noted.

By Vafa Guliyeva