Vizag police inducts Robo CYBIRA to detect bombs and crackdown on suspects

Visakhapatnam: A robotic avatar of the police has taken birth at Maharanipeta police station under the Visakhapatnam Police Commissionerate to improve the efficiency in attending to complaints. Vizag Police inducted a cyber-security interactive robotic agent called CYBIRA.

Developed by a start-up company Robo Coupler Pvt Ltd, CYBIRA is a specially equipped police robot that can decipher audio recordings into text messages. Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner RK Meena launched the assistant robot at the Maharanipeta police station on Monday.

The Police Commissioner said that the public could stand in front of the robot and orally register their complaints. He further added that those who wish to file written complaints could do that through a digital tablet attached to CYBIRA.

Earlier, similar models of police robots were deployed in Kerala and Telangana. Apart from receiving complaints, these robots were designed to detect bombs and identify suspects.

On Monday, CYBIRA received a complaint from a person regarding the recovery of Rs 50,000 in bad debt. However, the police said the complaint was not tenable as it is civil.

Once a complaint is registered, the complainant, as well as the respective police officer, will receive a written copy of the complaint. Reportedly, the concerned officer will have to initiate the investigation within a day of receiving the complaint. Otherwise, the robot will automatically forward the status of the complaint to senior officials and the AP DGP.

At present, CYBIRA is functioning on a trial basis, and the police would test its efficiency by deploying the robot at various police stations in Vizag. Furthermore, CYBIRA will facilitate the complainant to check the complaint status as well.

Officially, the first robot cop inducted in Kerala was assigned major duties such as meeting and greeting officers and visitors through facial recognition. It also guided visitors to appropriate areas within the office. The robocop would verbally give detailed and accurate information to visitors on the procedures and the services in the office, which will be accompanied by information on the screen. It will also keep track of visitors to set up appointments and to issue visitors’ ID. The robot will also be responsible for setting up case files on complaint or petition by the visitor.

The Robo Coupler Pvt Ltd spent over Rs 8 lakh to design the robot. The company plans to add new features that can come handy while administering services at a police station.