Robot cops rule! Humanoids take over streets of Kinshasa to tackle traffic chaos

Story highlights

Two talking robots have been installed in the DRC capital Kinshasa to regulate traffic

They are powered by solar panels and are equipped with surveillance cameras

The aim is to cut accidents and help reduce traffic in Kinshasa's busy streets

CNN  — 

How do you solve the problem of choking road traffic in one of the world’s bustling megacities? You bring in the robot cops.

In Kinshasa, the sprawling capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, two humanoid robots have been installed in high-traffic areas to regulate the flow of vehicles and help drivers and pedestrians traverse the roads safely.

Read this: The daily grind of commuting in Africa’s economic hubs

The goal is to ease the traffic woes of commuters and cut the number of road accidents in the center of Kinshasa, a city of some 10 million people.

“It is an innovation about road safety,” Vale Manga Wilma, president of the DRC’s National Commission for Road Safety (Commission Nationale de Prevention Routiere), told CNN.

“The traffic is a big problem in the rush hours,” he explained. “With the robots’ policemen intelligence, the road safety in Kinshasa becomes very easy.”