A Robocop in the streets of Tunis. For the past few days, a police robot has been circulating in the streets of the Tunisian capital calling on the population to respect the confinement, imposed since March 22. This locally built robot has been repeatedly reported by Internet users in various areas of the capital. P-Guard asks people to "obey the law and enforce it, and not leave homes to limit the spread [of the coronavirus] and to save lives".
" What are you doing ? Show me your ID! Not aware of containment? “, Launches in a loud voice this robot piloted remotely, on images disseminated by the Ministry of the Interior via its official Facebook page.
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Contacted by AFP, the ministry declined to comment. It was therefore not immediately possible to know whether the robot, which can technically control identity cards, was able to punish possible offenders.
Worth 100,000 to 130,000 euros
Produced in Tunisia since 2015 and sold mainly to companies abroad, this P-Guard robot specializing in securing premises was created by a Tunisian robotics academic, Anis Sahbani, founder of Enova Robotics based in Sousse (east ). The company donated an unspecified number of robots to the Ministry of the Interior.
Worth between 100,000 and 130,000 euros, the P-Guard robot has artificial intelligence which makes it "completely autonomous", but it can also be operated remotely, its manufacturer told AFP. He is equipped with a thermal camera for measuring body temperature and has an obstacle avoidance system based on laser telemetry, according to him.
Our file on the coronavirus
A robot of another kind also manufactured by Enova Robotics must be used within a few weeks, according to the company, in a hospital in Tunis to allow patients with the virus to communicate with their relatives. According to Anis Sahbani, another under construction must be put into service at the end of April in front of the hospitals "to sort the patients". The robot will ask them questions about their symptoms, and based on the answers, it will be able to determine whether a patient is likely to be infected or not.
Since March 2, Tunisia has officially registered 455 cases of new coronavirus, including 14 deaths. The general confinement in place on March 22 has been extended this week until April 20.
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