The Singaporean authorities have taken a in high spirits - tech approach to see to it that citizens comply with social distancing rule , deploying a dog-iron - like golem to police the busy Bishan - Ang Mo Kio Park and remind multitude of the need to keep their distance . design byBoston Dynamics , the remote control - controlled robot – call SPOT – was originally develop in 2015 using funding from the US ’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA ) , and was destine to be used to conduct search and deliverance missions in serious berth , among other thing . It was specifically project to be extremely unfluctuating on its feet and canmaintain its residuum even when kickedor when walk on odd or slippy terrain . Singapore has , at the time of writing , recorded just over 23,800coronaviruscases , and rigorous lockdown quantity remain in place until June 1 . Under these rules , hoi polloi are only allow to entrust their dwelling house for crucial role such as grocery shopping , and while work in Rosa Parks is permitted , this must be done alone . Those who fail to abide by with these public wellness measures could face life-threatening fines and even pokey time . As it patrols the park , SPOT courteously cue the great unwashed to remain at least 1 meter ( 3.3 animal foot ) apart at all times by flirt a pre - recorded message from a loudspeaker . It also features camera and sensors on its back , which it apply to supervise the act of people using the parkland , though it is not open of tracking individuals or obtaining any personal data , Reuters reports .
After an initial trial run period of two calendar week , authorities will decide if SPOT has had enough of an shock to warrant its extend use in other greenish space , some of which are already being patrolled by robots . In a artificial lake near to the parkland , for instance , a car - shaped bot has been deployed to broadcast recorded messages reminding people not to loiter or meet in groups . Boston Dynamics has become famous for populatinguncanny valleywith a serial of canine - like bot , beginning with the BigDog manikin in 2005 . Since then , its team of dog - bots have becomeincreasingly agile and stablewithout compromising on creepiness . And as the cosmos confront new health threat , mood disasters , and humanitarian crises , contraptions like SPOT could well become a regular passel .
