Robotic dog Mars can cover a distance of about 15km before it needs to be charged. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: For the past three months, a dog named Mars has been helping security officers patrol the perimeter fence of Seletar Bus Depot.
Its ability to detect intruders – animal or human – and signs of tampering has made Mars “an indispensable member of the security team”, public transport operator SBS Transit (SBST) said at its inaugural security symposium on Wednesday (Nov 20).
The mobile autonomous robotic surveillance (Mars) system – an all-terrain, all-weather robot powered by artificial intelligence (AI) – can cover a distance of about 15km before it needs to be charged.
In fact, “he likes challenging environments” and is ready for long-term deployment, said Dr Yanliang Zhang, managing director and chief scientist of Weston Robot – the local technology firm that built Mars – at the symposium held at YWCA Fort Canning.
As threats become more sophisticated, technology helps organisations keep ahead, SBST group chief executive Jeffrey Sim said.
Robots like Mars can augment – though not replace – the efforts of security officers, Sim said. For example, Mars can see better at night than the naked eye, and its thermal cameras can more easily detect animal or human forms from far away.
This frees up officers for “higher-grade jobs”, Sim said. Instead of patrolling the depot, officers can manage and monitor the live video feeds from CCTV cameras around the property.
When asked about Mars’ performance, Sim told The Straits Times that the trial “has been very successful so far, and our plan is to extend it to all our bus and rail depots”.
The robot is equipped with high-definition cameras, thermal imaging capabilities and video analytics, allowing it to process what it is seeing in real time and alert officers if it sees an intruder.
It also transmits a live video feed to security officers.
Robotic dogs are familiar to SBST. At its North East Line depot in Sengkang, a robotic dog named kAI has assisted technicians with maintenance activities, such as monthly train servicing operations, since 2023.
Besides Mars, an intelligent security platform designed by SBST and local firm Kabam Robotics was also on display at the symposium.
Known as Project Sentinel, the platform is specially designed for use by public transport operators that need to monitor large and busy areas such as transport hubs.
Sentinel can consolidate and analyse data from various sources, including CCTV cameras and security robots, and immediately alert officers if it detects an anomaly.
Sim said SBST needed a platform that could integrate the different systems developed by various parties to make all the data collected “more coherent”.
This would, in turn, boost the “situational awareness” of security officers, who would be able to monitor one unified dashboard instead of many.
“It’s not a lack of technologies because they already exist. It’s about putting them together,” Sim said.
A trial will be conducted soon at bus and rail depots with less foot traffic, “and if it works, we’ll scale”, Sim said, adding that he expects the platform to be ready for a proper trial in the first quarter of 2025.
SBST also signed four agreements at the symposium, including one with Temasek Polytechnic to equip security officers in the public transport sector with the knowledge and skills to deal with evolving security challenges.
Under the other three memorandums of understanding (MOUs), autonomous robots and AI-powered video analytics will be trialled out at SBST’s bus interchanges, depots and MRT stations to boost security.
These MOUs were signed with the Security Solutions Association of Singapore and local technology firms Weston Robot and Talonz Technologies.
Speaking at the symposium, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Baey Yam Keng said Singapore’s public transport system “is a prime target due to its accessibility and dense crowds”.
It is therefore important to “harness the power of technology to bolster our efforts to ensure public security”, in addition to “enlist(ing) commuters to serve as extra pairs of eyes and ears on the ground”. - The Straits Times/ANN
