I must pose a question to our readers. A question that's kept me up for many a night since I first laid eyes on this monstrous police-state creation. This heavily armed BB-8 knockoff from China's local law enforcement.
No, it's not whether or not this machine is ethical, nor whether or not you think our own country is building its own versions for our cops. They most certainly are—have you seen the robot dogs with flame throwers and rifles? No, from when I first saw this, the question that's entered my mind is "Is this a motorcycle or not?"
It sounds like a weird question to pose given the state of the world and how police forces around the globe are becoming increasingly militarized in order to quell popular dissent among the masses. But I can't figure out this single off-topic question I've given myself. So I'll ask you, my dear friends, to weigh in.
Is this thing a motorcycle or something else?
This mechanized and heavily armed robot comes from China, specifically deployed by the police in the city of Wenzhou, which is in the Zhejiang province just south of Shanghai. It's armed with both tear gas and net guns, because the world isn't dystopian enough without a rolling Star Wars droid armed with a net gun. It even has a Star Wars droid name: Rotunbot.
George Lucas is likely penning a cease and desist as we speak for copyright infringement.
According to my old pals at Futurism, Rotunbot was created by Zhejiang University in conjunction with Logon Technology. It has a top speed of 22 mph and weighs 275 pounds, and travels alongside the city's police force, though it uses AI technology to navigate.
"This robot can cope with dangers such as falling or being beaten," said Wang You, one of the people who worked on the project, who spoke to South China Morning Post, "and can perform tactical actions such as enemy identification, tracking, and capture after modular modification." It's also said to be pretty indestructible, being able to be beaten, smashed, and dropped from great heights. I've heard that before, though.
But the robot gets more dystopian. Apparently, it's been programmed to state, "If you win the fight, you’ll end up in jail. If you lose the fight, you’ll end up in hospital," when it becomes involved in some sort of confrontation. Yikes.
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