The future of robotics in social services

There is low infiltration of robotics in many of the social services, except for healthcare and defence, which are treated separately in Chapters 6 and 8 respectively. An exception would be the use of tEODor, an explosive ordnance (bomb) disposal and observation robot by the Australian police service. This robot has been used in bomb disposal, and to enter buildings in hostile situations, to gather intel for officers outside when it may be dangerous for them to enter the building. If Australia follows the lead of other countries, then robot ballistic shields to protect our emergency services personnel, crowd control robots, traffic control and enforcement robots, and greater use of drone technology for surveillance, crime prevention and evidence collection, are all more likely. In the UK, drones are fitted with long range acoustic devices (LRAD) to deliver a deafening boom of sound to deter people about to commit crimes.