Police in Tunisia have taken the unorthodox step of deploying talking robots which stop and question anyone breaking the country’s Coronavirus quarantine measures.
The strange-looking four-wheeled robots are controlled remotely by Tunisian police and are being used to stop and question citizens that are breaking the country's quarantine rules. Tunisia, like many other countries experiencing the Coronavirus pandemic, has implemented strict lockdown measures that call for people to stay at home to curb the spread of the virus.
Surprisingly, the robot is able to stop and ask those wondering the streets why they are not at home. The robot may then ask a person that it has stopped to show their identification to the robot’s built-in camera system, so officers controlling the device are able to see it.
It is not exactly clear how many of the police robots have been deployed into Tunisia’s wide streets, and the manufacturer, Enova Robotics, has told the BBC that it was a confidential matter.
A number of videos have emerged on Twitter showing the robot in action. In one particular video, a man is asked by the robot where he is going, to which the man replied that he is going to buy tobacco.
The robot then replies, “Ok, buy your tobacco, but be quick and go home!”
Tunisia was confirmed to have been hit by the Coronavirus epidemic on March 2, 2020. So far, there are 495 confirmed cases, with 18 deaths and 5 recoveries.