Robots may soon be traffic aides

Robots as traffic enforcers on the streets of Metro Manila?

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino challenged a team of high school students, which took the fourth place at an international tournament to build a prototype of a mechanical traffic enforcer for the agency.

Tolentino met with the team from Dr. Yanga Colleges Inc.—composed of Romyr Gimeno, Chelsea Morales, Alexandra Mae Guevarra, Claire Receli Renosa and coach Beryl Cruz—on Monday.

The MMDA chairman said he was open to the idea of robot traffic enforcers manning intersections to detect motorists who ignore traffic lights and other violations.

Tolentino added that he would throw his full support if the students were interested in pursuing the project.

The high school team was the agency’s guest in their Monday flag-raising ceremony where they displayed their prize-winning invention, the Magis, a winner in last year’s World Robot Olympiad held in Abu Dhabi.

The Magis (Man’s All-around Global Interactive Solutions) can monitor and detect floods, check a person’s body temperature and blood pressure, monitor one’s savings and even provide entertainment.

The team is currently working on another robot prototype that would enable it to detect spoiled meat, with the prevalence of “double dead” or  hot meat in some Metro markets, Cruz said.