From sewage systems to cable tunnels: Police use robotics to ensure safety at major events

SINGAPORE: From patting down pillowcases in hotel rooms to peering inside drains, officers from the Police Security Command (SecCom) step in before a major event and conduct search operations on venues. 

Their task is straightforward: Look for explosive devices and other security threats that might endanger VIPs, guests and participants.

These search operations have been enhanced with the use of robotics since 2019, said the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) on Sunday (Jul 24). 

“One of our core duties is to conduct search operations at major security events to ensure that there are no explosive devices or security threat items that will endanger VIPs, guests and participants. However, search operations can be dangerous and physically demanding,” said the Commanding Officer of Search Cadre Unit from SecCom, Deputy Superintendent of Police Winston Yim.

This is where unmanned aerial vehicles and remote-controlled vehicles come in, to “improve work efficiency while ensuring officers’ safety”, said SPF and HTX. 

The deployment of these robots have enabled SecCom to more than halve the amount of time and manpower spent on search operations, as compared to physical searches done by officers, SPF told CNA.

“This also depends on other contributing factors that can affect the operation, such as the environment, operating terrain and the complexity of the search.”