Equipped with net guns, pepper spray, smoke bombs, and sound transmitters, the RT-G robot can handle threats at close range.
The spherical robot patrols alongside Chinese police. (Video: Chengdu, China).
The RT-G spherical robot patrols with police in a commercial area in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, eastern China, capturing public attention with its modern design and functionality. This robot can operate both on land and underwater and was developed by a research team led by Wang You, an associate professor at the School of Engineering and Control Science at Zhejiang University, as reported by ECNS on December 10.
In a video posted on social media, the RT-G moves autonomously on the road without needing a controller. According to Wang, this 125 kg robot can reach speeds of up to 35 km/h.
In addition to its quick acceleration, the robot can navigate terrain effectively and operates stably, with a low risk of tipping over. Its robust structure allows it to withstand strong impacts. Wang’s team has enhanced the robot by adding various equipment such as net guns, pepper spray, smoke bombs, sirens, and sound transmitters to meet the police’s requirements for confrontation and handling threats at close range.
The research group also developed a smaller handheld version to address different needs in various application scenarios, such as during a fire. Besides serving public security and armed police, the robot can also be used for counter-terrorism drills, security protection, firefighting, emergency rescue, and even underwater situations like detecting river pollution thanks to its buoyancy.
The RT-G robot moves autonomously on the road without a controller.
The spherical robot has become a phenomenon on social media and has attracted attention from international customers. Some customers from the Middle East have reached out to the team to inquire about the robot, Wang noted.
Currently, the production cost of the RT-G is approximately $41,400 to $55,200. With continuous improvements and decreasing costs as production scales up, Wang expects the application of the spherical robot to expand into household devices or toys.
Research on the spherical robot began in 2017 when Wang found inspiration from a research group at Uppsala University in Sweden. As the spherical robot represents a new branch in the field of robotics and there was little prior research to reference, Wang’s team had to overcome many challenges during development, such as enabling the robot to navigate obstacles on complex terrain while maintaining relative balance.
