AI humanoid robots to be deployed with Home Team officers by 2028: Edwin Tong

Published Sep 30, 2026, 05:04 PM

Updated Sep 30, 2026, 05:04 PM

AI-powered humanoid robots will work alongside Home Team officers by 2028, handling dangerous and routine tasks to enhance safety and efficiency.

The Home Team Humanoid Robotics Centre has been launched to develop these robots using advanced AI technology.

The centre features realistic training environments and collaborates with industry partners like ST Engineering to advance robotics for public safety operations in Singapore.

SINGAPORE - Hazmat, prison and forensics officers will soon have new teammates in the form of humanoid robots powered by artificial intelligence.

These robots are to work alongside Home Team officers in real operational settings by 2028, said Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong.

Speaking at the launch of the Home Team Humanoid Robotics Centre (H2RC) in One-North on Sept 30, he said the aim is to support , not replace officers.

He said: “ The robot takes on the routine, physically demanding, or the dangerous work. And our officers focus on the work that calls for empathy, for judgement, and for leadership, the human instincts behind the job that the Home Team officers do. ”

Some $100 million has been committed to the centre, which is run by the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) to develop robots to enforce public safety.

Potential uses include ambulance resupply and hazmat operations for the Singapore Civil Defence Force, post-blast investigations for the police, and prison cell searches for the Singapore Prison Service.

Tong said in chemical leaks and the aftermath of explosions, officers have to handle dangerous materials and risk a secondary explosion or collapse.

But with humanoid robots, the machines can perform the dangerous tasks while officers are kept safe and freed up to do more.

Tong said: “ In future, a humanoid could take the place of this officer. It can go in and do that, and no officer needs to stand in the way of unnecessary danger. ”

He also gave the example of how the robots can perform yard checks, freeing prison officers to engage inmates and focus on their rehabilitation.

Embracing new technologies for public safety is a necessity for Singapore as it has an ageing and limited workforce, said Tong.

He added that while the Home Team has already been using science and technology to improve its operations, it is now time to bring AI out of the digital world and into the physical one via these robots.

To do it safely, the robots will be powered and trained on HTX’s sovereign AI NGINE , which was recently boosted with the latest AI chips.

HTX is the first in Singapore to operationalise Nvidia’s GB300 chips , allowing it to train larger multimodal models and embodied AI models.

The H2RC is the first centre of its kind dedicated specifically to humanoid robotics for public safety, said Tong.

The facility spans 29,000 sq ft, or roughly six basketball courts, for collaborations between the Home Team, industry and academia.

It supports the end-to-end development of AI humanoid robots, with areas for motion-capture systems, human demonstration and simulation, data collection and physical testing.

This includes recreated environments and scenarios the AI robots are expected to be deployed in, including a post-blast scene with debris, a prison cell and parts of a chemical plant.

The centre will also develop agentic AI capabilities, which involves using AI agents that can act on behalf of humans, taking on tasks that require not only repetition but also reasoning.

This will allow the AI robots to complete multi-step missions, recover from failures and adapt to changing environments and constraints.

During the launch, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by HTX and ST Engineering to advance robotics and embodied AI capabilities.

Other collaborators at the centre include US-based FieldAI, General Robotics and French company Mistral AI.

Chin Zhihao, deputy director of HTX’s Robotics, Automation and Unmanned Systems Centre of Expertise, said the centre aims to build an ecosystem that brings together expertise it can tap on for public safety.

He said H2RC intends to bring on more partners and will not be limited to specific platforms or providers.

He said: “We don’t want to be locked in to a specific platform or model. The AI landscape moves very fast, with new platforms becoming available every now and then, with different strengths.

“It is important for us to be agnostic in this sense so we have the freedom to leverage on the latest available technologies, with public safety use being key.”

David Sun is The Straits Times’ crime correspondent. He has a background in criminology and is a licensed private investigator.

AI/artificial intelligence

发布于 2026 年 9 月 30 日下午 5:04

更新于2026年9月30日下午5:04

到 2028 年，人工智能驱动的人形机器人将与内政团队警员并肩工作，处理危险和日常任务，以提高安全性和效率。

内政部人形机器人中心已成立，旨在利用先进的人工智能技术开发这些机器人。

该中心拥有逼真的训练环境，并与新加坡科技工程等行业合作伙伴合作，推进新加坡公共安全行动中的机器人技术发展。

新加坡——危险品处理人员、监狱工作人员和法医人员很快将迎来新的队友，他们是由人工智能驱动的人形机器人。

内政部第二部长唐振辉表示，这些机器人将于 2028 年前与内政团队官员在实际行动环境中并肩工作。

9月30日，他在One-North举行的内政团队人形机器人中心（H2RC）启动仪式上发表讲话时表示，其目标是支持而不是取代警员。

他说：“机器人负责日常的、体力消耗大的或危险的工作。而我们的警员则专注于那些需要同理心、判断力和领导力的工作，也就是内政团队警员工作中体现的人性本能。”

该中心已投入约 1 亿美元，由内政科技局 (HTX) 运营，旨在开发用于维护公共安全的机器人。

潜在用途包括为新加坡民防部队提供救护车补给和危险品处理作业，为警方进行爆炸后调查，以及为新加坡监狱署进行监狱牢房搜查。

Tong表示，在化学品泄漏和爆炸后的清理工作中，工作人员必须处理危险材料，并冒着发生二次爆炸或坍塌的风险。

但是，有了人形机器人，机器就可以执行危险的任务，从而保证警员的安全，并让他们腾出手来做更多的事情。

童先生说：“未来，人形机器人可以取代这名警官。它可以进去执行任务，这样警官就无需置身于不必要的危险之中。”

他还举例说明机器人如何进行院内巡查，从而解放狱警，让他们能够与囚犯互动并专注于他们的改造。

童先生表示，新加坡劳动力老龄化且有限，因此采用新技术保障公共安全对新加坡来说势在必行。

他还补充说，虽然内政团队已经利用科学技术来改进其运作，但现在是时候通过这些机器人将人工智能从数字世界带到物理世界了。

为了确保安全，这些机器人将由 HTX 自主研发的 AI 引擎驱动和训练，该引擎最近配备了最新的 AI 芯片。

HTX 是新加坡首家投入使用英伟达 GB300 芯片的公司，使其能够训练更大的多模态模型和具身人工智能模型。

童先生表示，H2RC是首个专门致力于公共安全领域人形机器人技术的中心。

该设施占地 29,000 平方英尺，约相当于六个篮球场，旨在促进主队、行业和学术界之间的合作。

它支持人工智能人形机器人的端到端开发，涵盖动作捕捉系统、人体演示和模拟、数据收集和物理测试等领域。

这包括重现人工智能机器人预计将要部署的环境和场景，包括爆炸后的碎片现场、监狱牢房和化工厂的部分区域。

该中心还将开发智能体人工智能能力，即利用人工智能代理代表人类行动，承担不仅需要重复操作，还需要推理的任务。

这将使人工智能机器人能够完成多步骤任务，从故障中恢复，并适应不断变化的环境和限制。

发布会上，HTX 和 ST Engineering 签署了一份谅解备忘录，以推进机器人技术和具身人工智能能力的发展。

该中心的其他合作方包括美国公司 FieldAI、通用机器人公司和法国公司 Mistral AI。

HTX机器人、自动化和无人系统专业中心副主任秦志豪表示，该中心旨在建立一个生态系统，汇集可用于公共安全的专业知识。

他表示，H2RC计划引入更多合作伙伴，并且不会局限于特定的平台或供应商。

他说：“我们不想被某个特定的平台或模型所束缚。人工智能领域发展日新月异，新的平台层出不穷，各有优势。”

“从这个意义上讲，保持中立对我们来说很重要，这样我们才能自由地利用最新的可用技术，而公共安全应用是关键。”

大卫·孙是《海峡时报》的犯罪记者。他拥有犯罪学背景，并且是一名持证私人侦探。

人工智能