- Autonomous vehicles, robot dogs and drones begin joint patrols at one of China’s busiest tourist landmarks.
- City tests “air-ground-water” policing system aimed at eliminating blind spots in public safety management.
Hangzhou police have begun deploying an AI-powered robotic patrol fleet around the city’s iconic West Lake, marking one of its first real-world trials of an integrated security system combining autonomous vehicles, drones and robotic first responders.
The newly formed unit — developed by the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau — centers on a self-driving patrol vehicle linked to drones, robotic dogs and aquatic robots through a unified smart command platform.
The system enables remote coordination and autonomous task allocation, allowing machines to operate collaboratively rather than individually.
In the air, drones conduct aerial patrols and crowd monitoring, while an underwater robotic fish performs safety inspections beneath the lake’s surface.
On land, robot dogs assist with routine patrol and emergency responses. A standout device is a police-developed flying lifebuoy equipped with four fixed wings, capable of traveling about one kilometer and supporting two adults weighing up to 80 kilograms during water rescues, according to Hangzhou police.
Once shoreline surveillance detects a person in distress, coordinates can be transmitted to the robot fleet platform, which dispatches the device automatically to provide flotation support before rescuers arrive, a police spokesperson added.
Authorities say the system comes as visitor numbers at West Lake surge during the spring tourism season, increasing safety pressures around the popular scenic area.
By integrating machine coordination through a centralized robot fleet platform, officers aim to shift from human-directed operations to machine-to-machine collaboration — enabling drones or robotic units to complete missions when autonomous vehicles are blocked by crowds.
“Previously it was us humans issuing commands to robot, which is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. Following the introduction of the robot fleet coordination platform, data and commands can now be shared seamlessly within the platform,” said Ma Dai, a senior police officer with the Hangzhou police.
Police officials say the three-dimensional intelligent patrol network is designed to deliver full-area coverage with fewer blind spots, signaling how AI-enabled robotics could reshape urban public safety management in high-density tourist zones.
