“I’ll be back!”- Robocop of Barfani Dham

In a scene reminiscent of Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s famous character Terminator, the popular

traffic

Robocop installed at

Barfani Dham

square, bid adieu to citizens with the promise of a return. In the month of June,

Indore

had become the first city in India to mount a robot to regulate traffic. Soon, Robocop, as it was fondly known, had become the talk of the nation. But the robot, installed at Barfani Dham square, bid adieu to the city on August 30, after completing two months of service. And since the 14-foot tall robot was called off duty, traffic at the Barfani Dham signal has been chaotic and

commuters

say it needs to be reinstalled, claiming that it was quite efficient in manning traffic.

Paritosh Verma, a corporate professional who takes the Ring Road to office in Vijay Nagar, shares, “It’s been 15 days since

Robocop

was taken down. The situation at the square is back to chaos and endless honking. Though traffic police are on vigil, they are unable to man traffic properly.”
So, the cop stands on the side of the square and commuters cross from all directions.” Mehul Mehta, a young businessman adds, “Robocop was a hit in the city as it was a new concept that also resonated with the idea of smart city. I really wish the authorities mount the robot again.” And Mehul’s wish will be fulfiled soon, as the traffic police and the manufacturers of the robot intend to bring it back.The police authorities have planned to purchase a new version of Robocop from its manufacturers and reinstall it with some modifications. Pradeep Singh Chouhan, traffic DSP shares, “Robocop required a few alterations for which it was removed. It used to show a green signal for going straight and right at the same time, which was a bit confusing for commuters. It also had two cameras to capture pictures of violators. The revised version of Robocop will have four RGB-D cameras (depth sensing devices to give images of violators), besides other updates.” Locals can expect version 2.0 to take charge of the square in a fortnight, say the authorities.

“The robot was designed by the students of our college. It was put up on a trail basis and the operational cost till August was being borne by us. It was getting difficult for us to operate it for free and now we have left it to the police authorities to purchase it if they want it reinstalled. The authorities have agreed.”
— Vishnu Pasari, owner of Shri Venkteshwar Institute of Technology (SVIT),
whose students had designed the robot

The operational cost of Robocop for two months cost the manufacturers `1 lakh, inclusive of the salaries of the engineer and the security guard who were on vigil, observing the nitty-gritties of the robot’s functioning. The new version will not require an engineer or a security guard any longer, and the necessary modifications are underway.


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