Robot To Screen Passengers At Pune Railway Station For COVID-19

by Sanjana Shenoy
Robot To Screen Passengers At Pune Railway Station For COVID-19

The Railway Protection Force of Central Railway, Pune Division introduced a robot named Captain ARJUN. They introduced this robot to intensify the screening of passengers for coronavirus. This robot is used to screen passengers and keep a check of suspicious people. Central Railways also plans to introduce similar robots in Mumbai.

Picture Credits: punemirror.indiatimes.com

‘Captain ARJUN’ Screens Passengers For COVID-19 At Pune Railway Station

The Railway Protection Force of Central Railway, Pune Division introduced a robot to screen passengers for coronavirus.  Named Captain ARJUN (Always be Responsible and Just Use to be Nice), it helps screen passengers and keeps suspicious activity at bay. Captain ARJUN was inaugurated in an online ceremony. This was attended by the Director-General RPF Arun Kumar, Principal Chief Security Commissioner Atul Pathak and Divisional Railway Manager Pune, Renu Sharma.

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Captain ARJUN comes equipped with motion sensor, one PTZ camera (pan, tilt, zoom camera) and one dome camera. These cameras use AI algorithms which enables it to track suspicious and antisocial activity. It also has an in-built siren and motion-activated spotlight H-264 processor. Apart from these, it has an in-built internal storage for recording in case of network failure. Apart from India, Singapore also uses robots to maintain social distancing guidelines in parks. 

Picture Credits: sakaltimes.com

Captain ARJUN can also conduct thermal screening. It can record the temperature in a digital display panel with a response time of 0.5 seconds. And if the temperature is higher than the reference range, it sounds an automatic alarm. Along with these features, Captain ARJUN has sensor-based sanitizer and mask dispenser and adopts a two-way communication mode, voice and video, and also speaks in the local language. It also has built-in speakers to spread awareness about Covid-19. Technologically advanced robots are deployed at Kerala and Bengaluru hospitals to assist the staff. 

Robot Captain ARJUN- The Futuristic Aid To Railways

Captain ARJUN is the brainchild of DIG/RPF Alok Bohra, Central Railway.  He states to the media “The high infection rates among multiple segments of people across the world have hampered efforts to tackle COVID-19 pandemic that prompted us to consider robotic screening”.  Bohra further adds “Captain ARJUN can be deployed for multiple uses and it is an effective element in station access control and will augment the station security plan.”

Picture Credits: thescrbblr.in

The Central Railways reported that the robot will protect passengers and staff from any possible COVID-19 infection. It will enhance passenger security during boarding and de-boarding. According to Central Railways, the success of this AI-enabled robot will ensure passengers protection while undergoing screening with no manual encounters. Apart from deploying robots to combat coronavirus, there are also robot restaurants across India. Bangalore has a robot restaurant where robots serve food to customers.