AI Industry & Applications · 2026-09-03 · 00:51

Singapore Prison Service trials autonomous security robot

Speaker
The Straits Times
The Straits Times report
Type
Industry Leader

In Brief

Singapore Prison Service and HTX jointly developed PROTECT, a 510kg autonomous robot equipped with pepper spray capability, for a three-month trial starting October.

Why it matters HTX allows robot to autonomously use pepper spray against prison unrest for the first time, setting a precedent for Singapore's public sector autonomous use of force; a three-month pilot period will test whether it can be scaled up

Readable transcript

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

[music] >> But that is designed to strengthen prison safety and operations by supporting officers in routine supervision, surveillance, and incident response. This allows to devote more time to meaningful inmate engagement and rehabilitation. Protect will be trialled for a period between October 2026 to January 2027. The trial will allow us to assess the effectiveness of the robot in our operating environment and identify any areas of refinement before considering for larger scale deployment.

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Cite this record

Singapore AI Observatory. Singapore Prison Service trials autonomous security robot. Retrieved 2026-09-07, https://sgai.md/videos/v091/

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