Robot 'Captain Arjun' to screen passengers at Pune station for COVID-19

The Pune division of the Central Railways zone launched a robot named ‘Captain Arjun’, to aid its Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel in screening passengers for COVID-19 at the Pune Railway Station when they board or de-board trains.

Sanjeev Mittal, General Manager, Central Railway said that the contactless screening mechanism of the robot will protect the passengers and staff from any possible infection and its surveillance will provide extra security.

According to railway officials, the artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled robot will ensure safety of passengers while undergoing screening with no manual encounters. The surveillance feature of the device is expected to be a deterrent to unusual occurrences and will security on the railway premises.

Pune Division of Central Railway launched a robot ‘Captain Arjun’, a device for enhancing safety of passengers

Preventing spread of COVID-19, device is equipped with

➡️Sensor-Based Sanitiser
➡️ Sensor-Based mask dispenser
➡️ Floor Sanitiser
➡️Thermal Screening and surveillance pic.twitter.com/XO7jvLHJvG

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) June 13, 2020

The robot Captain Arjun is equipped with several advanced technological features such as motion sensor, one PTZ camera for pan, tilt, and zoom, as well as a dome camera. The cameras use the AI algorithms to track suspicious and antisocial activity during screening. It also has an in-built siren, motion activated spotlight H-264 processor and also an in-built internal storage for recording, in case there is a network failure.

Captain Arjun conducts the thermal screening and records the temperature in a digital display panel having a response time of 0.5 seconds. In case the temperature is higher than the reference range, it sounds an automatic alarm.

The robot is built in such a way that it adopts a two-way communication mode, voice and video, and also speaks in the local language. The robot has speakers with which it broadcasts messages to spread awareness on COVID-19.

It also has a sensor-based sanitiser, a mask dispenser and a floor sanitisation facility with battery backup. It has rugged wheels which supports all kinds of surfaces. The robot can be deployed for multiple uses, effective for the station access control. It will also augment the station security plan.