Robotic dogs to be seen on airport replacing sniffer dog

NP NEWS 24 ONLINE – At the airport or the metro station, anyone suspected of carrying drugs or explosives is subjected to a sniff test by German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois’ or Labradors. These dogs are also sent out in the event of a potential bomb threat in any city. Their nose for explosives has only saved countless lives but also prevents tragedies from occurring in the first place.

But now this dog will be replaced by the robotic dog.

The factory-built robotic canines can not only detect explosives but also scan the luggage of passengers using an X-Ray feature in their eyes, said the report citing an official.

The idea of using the robotic canines was introduced when CISF DG Rajesh Ranjan and additional DG MA Ganapathy attended the Global Aviation Security Symposium in Canada earlier this week.

While Indian agencies are dependent on manpower to conduct security checks at the airports, CISF aims to use new technologies that can help in combating the threat to the aviation sector. Additionally, the CISF also hopes it will be able to detect the smuggling of drugs, golds, and explosives smuggled through unforeseen methods.

Currently, robots can be found at the airports of several developed countries like the UK, the US, Canada, Japan, Korea etc for various purposes including passenger information and security checks.

Officials said CISF attended the global aviation symposium organised by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for the first time last week and had fruitful bilateral discussions with European Union nations and other ICAO members. “We already have a tie-up with Transport Security Administration (TSA) of the United States but now we have a capacity building pact with the EU as well, which will help us explore a lot about new technologies and methods of securing our airports,” said an officer.