Science & Technology

Police in Russia 'arrest' activist robot

By T.K. Randall
September 25, 2016

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Developed in Russia, the roughly human-like device known as Promobot previously made headlines after it managed to escape the laboratory twice earlier this year.

Now the spunky little robot is back in the news again, not because it escaped its creators but because it was attending a rally in support of Russian parliamentary candidate Valery Kalachev.

Its reason for being there, which was to record data about voters for future analysis, was perfectly peaceful, yet for some reason local law enforcement officers were having none of it."Police asked to remove the robot away from the crowded area, and even tried to handcuff him," said a company spokesman. "According to eyewitnesses, the robot did not put up any resistance."

It isn't clear exactly why the police took such exception to the robot however it's possible that it had been classed as 'unauthorized' because its operators had forgotten to fill in the paperwork.

"People like robots, they are easy to get along with," said Kalachev. "There are a few Promobots working for us which are collecting people's demands and wishes at the moment."


Source: Science Alert

Tags: Russia, Promobot