US city to deploy 'RoboCop' to monitor public area

A small US city near Los Angeles has announced that it will introduce a 'RoboCop' or a robot police to monitor public areas.

The device, dubbed "HP RoboCop", will be deployed in Huntington Park, a 50,000-resident city located 10 km south of Los Angeles. It is "an autonomous data machine that is meant to serve outdoors", Xinhua news agency quoted a media report as saying on Monday.

It will use 360-degree HD video footage to "act as an extra set of eyes and monitor areas such as parks, city buildings and corridors where police might not have the time to consistently patrol", it said.

The report said the device will be unveiled on Tuesday in the city hall of Huntington Park.

A video posted online showed the device, which looks like a small space capsule, rolling down a sidewalk, making electronic sounds and at one point even saying, "Good day to you".

It also has its own Twitter account, @HPRoboCop.

Mayor Karina Macias said that she was very excited that the city can officially call on "HP RoboCop" to help police officers patrol the city and he is a big fan of the cute robot.

--IANS

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