On the first day of the May Day holiday, a special law enforcement presence appeared around Hangzhou's West Lake Scenic Area and its surrounding core roads—the nation's first fully-formed traffic management robot unit officially began its patrol duties.
Named "Hangjing Zhixing," this robot traffic police force consists of 15 intelligent traffic management robots. Their primary responsibilities include advising non-motor vehicles and pedestrians against violations, directing traffic, providing directions to tourists, and working in coordination with human officers on the ground to enhance traffic management efficiency.
Prior to this deployment, the robot unit had already participated in traffic control operations during the West Lake Half Marathon in March and the Hangzhou Women's Half Marathon in April, gaining practical experience. During the May Day holiday, they officially transitioned from event-specific "test runs" to managing high-volume holiday traffic, marking a significant upgrade from individual pilot operations to coordinated team support.
According to the Hangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau's Traffic Management Division, the deployment follows a "one-spot, one-plan" strategy. The 15 robots have been strategically stationed at key intersections in districts including Shangcheng, Gongshu, Xihu, and Binjiang, covering critical areas such as the West Lake Scenic Area, Hubin commercial district, and major urban thoroughfares. The robots will perform varied functions based on the specific scenarios and needs of each intersection, forming a new operational model of "human-robot collaboration and complementary advantages" with on-duty officers.
In the West Lake Scenic Area, providing directions is one of the most frequent requests during holidays. As such, a core function of the traffic management robots stationed there is to assist tourists with navigation. Visitors can approach a robot, press the "I want to speak" button on the interactive screen, and initiate an inquiry. Equipped with advanced voice recognition models, the robot can quickly understand spoken requests and, using real-time traffic data and geographic positioning, provide optimal walking and public transport routes through both voice responses and on-screen graphics.
At key urban intersections, the robots focus on monitoring violations by non-motor vehicles and pedestrians. The robots utilize high-performance visual recognition algorithms to conduct all-weather, multi-target intelligent monitoring of intersections. They can accurately identify infractions such as non-motor vehicles stopping beyond the line, riders not wearing helmets, illegal passenger carrying, and pedestrians lingering in vehicle lanes. Upon detection, the robot immediately issues warnings via a directional audio system. If a violation persists after three reminders, the system records the incident and forwards the information to the division's warning center, creating an automated management loop of "real-time perception, precise identification, and immediate intervention."
Additionally, for traffic direction, the robots leverage millisecond-level synchronization with intersection signal control systems and a built-in library of traffic gestures compliant with Ministry of Public Security standards. They can accurately and smoothly execute eight types of directional commands—including signals for proceeding straight, stopping, and turning left—ensuring perfect synchronization between robot gestures and traffic light indications, thereby providing clear and unambiguous instructions to drivers and pedestrians.
It is understood that the primary motivation behind establishing Hangzhou's traffic management robot unit is to free up human police resources. In traditional intersection duties, officers often spend long hours on repetitive tasks like shouting warnings, blowing whistles, and issuing advisories—particularly in high-demand areas like scenic spots, where management tasks are heavy and police presence is stretched. The robots, capable of operating continuously for 8 to 9 hours daily, can effectively take over these basic, repetitive duties. This allows redeployed officers to focus on tasks requiring human judgment and rapid response, such as accident handling, enforcement of major violations, and safety hazard inspections.
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