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Deep Robotics tests its DR02 humanoid robots in Hangzhou traffic and tourist areas
IA en un minuto newsroom · Editor: Jon Elgezabal
In 30 seconds
Deep Robotics took its DR02 humanoid onto the streets of Hangzhou over China's early October holiday break, in the rain and among crowds. The robot manages crossings, spots violations such as riding without a helmet and replies to tourists in several languages. This is only a test: no result figures exist, and a company employee was controlling it during one demonstration.
Chinese company Deep Robotics tested its DR02 humanoid robots on the streets of Hangzhou during China's National Day holiday in early October, according to a report published on Friday, October 9, by Xinhuanet, the website of China's state news agency Xinhua. The trials took place in Xihu District, with persistent rain and a heavy flow of visitors and vehicles.
The robots were placed at busy intersections, such as those on Zheda Road and West Wenyi Road, and at Xixi National Wetland Park. At the intersections, the test was whether they could direct traffic, help keep order and assist visitors. At the park, whether they could guide people on very crowded days.
The DR02 has IP66 protection, a rating for resistance to dust and water, and the trial was used to check whether it can stay on duty in persistent rain and to gather data for improving the robot. According to the report, it moves around the intersection on its own, avoids pedestrians and vehicles, and adjusts its position and gestures to what is happening.
Its vision system also identifies e-bike riders who are not wearing a helmet or whose vehicle is overloaded, pedestrians who step over the line and vehicles that stop beyond it, and it warns them out loud. It also answers questions in several languages about routes, transport and the scenic area.
This is a trial, not a service in operation. The report speaks of a group of robots, without saying how many took part or how long they were running. TechRepublic notes that Deep Robotics has not provided results that measure accuracy, uptime, cost savings or improvements in traffic flow.
Local newspaper Dushi Kuaibao described one of the trials, at an intersection on Shuguang Road in the West Lake scenic area, in a report published on October 6 on the Hangzhou.com.cn portal. Deep Robotics employees brought the robot in two large boxes and spent half an hour setting it up. One of them was operating it as it walked across a zebra crossing, and traffic police were also at the intersection. According to the newspaper, the robot is 1.8 meters tall, walks by itself, recognizes traffic lights and, when the light is green, gestures with its arms for pedestrians to cross quickly.
The idea is for the robot to take on repetitive tasks so that staff can focus on work that needs human judgment. A worker at the trial, quoted by Xinhua, said this leaves more attention for accidents and the most serious violations. Deep Robotics, founded in 2017 and a maker of quadruped and humanoid robots, will keep testing it in traffic management, public services and other city tasks.
Why it matters · analysis and opinion
Taking a humanoid out of the lab and placing it at an intersection with rain, electric bikes and tourists is a different step from demo videos: that is where sensors and balance fail. That is why the detail that weighs most is the one that is missing. Nobody has published how often the robot is right when it spots a violation, how many hours it lasts or what happens when it gives a wrong warning, and in the local report an employee was operating it. Until those figures exist, the sensible reading is a test of endurance and of image, not the replacement of an officer. What it does show is where this manufacturer is looking: repetitive, public-facing tasks, outdoors, where staff cannot keep up on the busiest days.
Source: Xinhua · Written with the help of AI: how we make the news
