Robot Trials in Prison

Caption language: en · Fetched: 2026-09-04

A prison yard gets rowdy, and the first responder isn't a prison officer, but a 500 kilo robot. Singapore's prisons are trialing new AI-powered robots to assist with operations, including supervise inmates and respond to incidents quicker, safer, and more effectively. Despite the new tech, Nickol Khattar finds out that officers will still be at the center of decision-making. >> When tempers flare in a prison yard and things get heated, this new prison robot, aptly called Protect, will roll in to diffuse the tension. Activated remotely by an officer through a live 360° video and audio feed, Protect allows officers to respond quickly without getting physically involved, preventing incidents from escalating. If inmates try to tamper with the robot, officers will also be alerted.

>> What the robot can also do is to patrol autonomously across predefined routes. And how does it do so? Thanks to its AI capabilities built in. Through audio and video feeds sent back to officers, it will complement their physical presence on the ground. >> The Singapore Prison Service says this will allow officers to devote more time to meaningful inmate engagement and rehabilitation. The technology, backed by cyber protection measures, will be trialed over four months to assess its effectiveness in line with prison operations before wider rollout. For now, it will be confined to yard sessions. >> It will not be a 24-hour surveillance. We have a fixed CCTV coverage for this.

SPS leverages CCTV together with the advanced video analytics to detect abnormal behavior system to identify situations that may require officers' attention, such as altercations, self-harm, or possible medical emergency. This allows officers to respond in a timely manner. >> There is a AI model that is used for human recognition, but just purely for uh recognizing a human only. The system also underwent a very systematic system safety review. So, with that control mechanisms, be through design or process that were identified through the process, was also incorporated into the system to further enhance its safety. >> SPF stresses that Protect is not designed to handle every situation, and officers will still manage situations ranging from minor conflicts to serious incidents.

Officers will maintain oversight and control, and intervene when necessary.