Blast investigations, prison cell searches: Home Team targets 2028 roll-out of humanoid robots

The new Home Team Humanoid Robotics Centre in One-North is the first of its kind dedicated specifically to humanoid robotics for public safety.

A Home Team humanoid robot replicating the dexterous hand movements of a teleoperator at the Home Team Humanoid Robotics Centre (H2RC) on Sep 24, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)

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SINGAPORE: Police officers conducting post-blast investigations and prison officers searching through inmates’ cells could soon be assisted by humanoid robots as early as 2028.

These are among the capabilities being developed and tested at the Home Team Humanoid Robotics Centre (H2RC) in One-North, which was officially opened on Wednesday (Sep 30).

“Our goal is clear. We aim to have the first humanoid robot working alongside Home Team officers in a real operational setting, performing defined tasks safely and reliably by 2028,” said Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong at the launch.

The H2RC is the first centre of its kind dedicated specifically to humanoid robotics for public safety, added Mr Tong, who is also law minister.

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Second Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law Edwin Tong at the launch of the Home Team Humanoid Robotics Centre in One-north on Sep 30, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ili Mansor)

The humanoid form was chosen for its ability to adapt to environments designed for humans, the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) said in a media release.

“While the commercial sector is primarily focused on training humanoid robots for manufacturing, household and consumer applications, there is less focus on advancing embodied AI solutions for public safety needs,” said the agency.

Roughly the size of six basketball courts, the H2RC provides the space to set up realistic environments and detailed mock-ups of public safety scenarios that let engineers run tests and collect data.

It supports the end-to-end embodied artificial intelligence (AI) development cycle, including motion-capture systems that develop humanoid motor skills, teleoperation, human demonstration and simulation that generates training data.

In his speech, Mr Tong said the Home Team has over the years used science and technology to boost situational awareness, improve decision-making and support officers on the ground.

“Now I think it's time for us to think about taking the next leap to bring AI out of the digital world and into the physical world, through intelligent robots that can work alongside our officers in real operational environments,” he said.

A Home Team humanoid robot replicating the dexterous hand movements of a teleoperator in a hazardous materials sampling scenario at the Home Team Humanoid Robotics Centre (H2RC) on Sep 24, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)

POTENTIAL HOME TEAM USES

“Humanoids will be trained to augment human officers in carrying out routine, physically demanding or dangerous tasks, allowing officers to focus on work that requires judgement, empathy and discretion, while at the same time, keeping them safe,” said HTX.

At Wednesday's launch, it displayed four humanoid robots that are being developed.

They included one that can handle the containment, mitigation and sampling of hazardous materials (HazMat) for the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), reducing officer exposure to dangerous substances.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) could also be assisted in post-blast investigations in the unstable, dirty and dangerous aftermath of an explosion, through a humanoid that can be controlled via a remote controller.

The robot is also able to kneel – something which is beyond the capabilities of commercial off-the-shelf humanoids – which lets it perform tasks close to the ground, according to HTX.

A Home Team humanoid robot crouches to pick up an explosive fragment in a simulated post-blast investigation scenario at the Home Team Humanoid Robotics Centre (H2RC) on Sep 24, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)

Humanoid robots could also be used by the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) for cell searches for contraband, by leveraging detection capabilities to enhance the thoroughness and effectiveness of inspections.

The “dexterous humanoid hands, fine motor control, and high-resolution tactile sensing” needed for the task will be explored moving forward, said HTX.

Lastly, the SCDF could see humanoid robots perform the routine and repetitive task of restocking medical supplies for ambulances.

SINGAPORE’S MANPOWER, LAND CONSTRAINTS

Mr Tong said that public safety agencies globally are harnessing technology to improve safety for officers.

For instance, firefighters in Paris sent a robot into the burning Notre-Dame Cathedral in 2019, and robots assisted in the Fukushima nuclear plant clean-up, operating in radioactive environments where no humans should go, he said.

Such adoption is especially crucial amid manpower limitations in Singapore, with a workforce that is ageing and will only grow older more quickly in the years ahead, said Mr Tong.

A Home Team humanoid robot evaluating and identifying the different objects in front of it before executing a task at the Home Team Humanoid Robotics Centre (H2RC) on Sep 24, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)

“The Home Team draws from the same limited pool as every other sector. Human resource in Singapore is finite, yet the demand for our services keeps rising. More medical emergencies will be inevitable from an older population, busier checkpoints, which we see, more complex crimes. And we can't solve this with sheer numbers alone,” he said.

Land constraints are another factor, as emergencies here unfold in a “dense, high-rise, densely populated, as well as close-proximity, increasingly underground city”.

“We don't have the luxury of having vast space or distance between one infrastructure to another, and incidents therefore often happen in tight spaces, close to people.

"Very often, these two factors mean that there's little, if not no, margin for error. At the same time, these incidents must be resolved quickly and precisely before the threat evolves or spreads,” said Mr Tong.

Mr Tong said that humanoids were chosen because “a robot with a human form can go where our officers can go, and use the tools that our officers use, without ourselves having to redesign the environment around it”.

The next step is to move beyond preprogrammed robots towards embodied AI, with robots that can learn, perceive, reason and act in dynamic, real-world environments, he said.

A Home Team humanoid robot's movements is controlled by the telepresence of a human using a virtual reality set at the Home Team Humanoid Robotics Centre (H2RC) on Sep 24, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)

“But a robot trained for a factory floor will not know how to operate safely and effectively at a critical incident scene,” said Mr Tong.

“To make humanoids work for the Home Team, we must therefore train them with real public safety data. That is precisely what H2RC will enable us to do.”

H2RC will also bring together the expertise of relevant industry entities and the problem-solving know-how of research and academic institutions, said Mr Tong.

On Wednesday, HTX and ST Engineering also signed a memorandum of understanding to further their cooperation in the sector.

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位于纬壹科技城（One-North）的全新内政团队人形机器人中心是首个专门致力于公共安全人形机器人的同类中心。

2026年9月24日，在内政部人形机器人中心（H2RC），内政部的人形机器人正在模仿远程操作员灵巧的手部动作。（图片：CNA/Syamil Sapari）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：最早在 2028 年，人形机器人可能就会协助警方进行爆炸后调查和狱警搜查囚犯牢房。

这些功能正在位于纬壹科技城（One-North）的内政团队人形机器人中心（H2RC）进行开发和测试，该中心于周三（9月30日）正式开放。

“我们的目标很明确。我们的目标是到2028年，让首个人形机器人与内政团队官员在真实的行动环境中并肩工作，安全可靠地执行既定任务。”内政部第二部长唐振辉在启动仪式上表示。

唐先生补充说，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，他同时也是律政部长。

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2026年9月30日，内政部第二部长兼律政部长唐振辉在纬壹科技城为内政团队人形机器人中心揭幕。（图片：CNA/Ili Mansor）

内政科技局（HTX）在一份新闻稿中表示，之所以选择人形机器人，是因为它能够适应为人类设计的环境。

该机构表示：“虽然商业领域主要专注于训练用于制造业、家庭和消费领域的类人机器人，但对推进满足公共安全需求的具身人工智能解决方案的关注度较低。”

H2RC 的大小大约相当于六个篮球场，它提供了足够的空间来设置逼真的环境和详细的公共安全场景模型，让工程师可以进行测试和收集数据。

它支持端到端的具身人工智能 (AI) 开发周期，包括用于开发类人运动技能的动作捕捉系统、远程操作、人体演示和用于生成训练数据的模拟。

唐先生在讲话中表示，内政团队多年来一直运用科学技术来提高对局势的了解，改善决策，并为一线警员提供支持。

“现在我认为我们应该考虑迈出下一步，将人工智能从数字世界带入物理世界，通过智能机器人让它们在真实的行动环境中与我们的警员并肩工作，”他说。

2026年9月24日，在内政部人形机器人中心（H2RC），内政部的人形机器人正在模拟远程操作员在危险材料采样场景中的灵巧手部动作。（图片：CNA/Syamil Sapari）

主队潜在用途

HTX表示：“人形机器人将接受训练，以协助人类警员执行日常、体力要求高或危险的任务，使警员能够专注于需要判断力、同理心和谨慎的工作，同时确保他们的安全。”

在周三的发布会上，该公司展示了正在研发的四款人形机器人。

其中包括一台能够为新加坡民防部队 (SCDF) 处理危险材料 (HazMat) 的封存、缓解和采样的设备，从而减少官员接触危险物质的机会。

在爆炸后不稳定、肮脏和危险的现场，新加坡警察部队 (SPF) 也可以借助可通过遥控器控制的人形机器人进行爆炸后调查。

据 HTX 称，该机器人还能跪下——这是市售现成人形机器人无法做到的——这使它能够执行靠近地面的任务。

2026年9月24日，在内政团队人形机器人中心（H2RC），内政团队的人形机器人蹲下身子，捡起一块爆炸碎片，模拟爆炸后的调查场景。（图片：CNA/Syamil Sapari）

新加坡监狱署 (SPS) 也可以利用人形机器人进行牢房违禁品搜查，通过检测能力来提高检查的彻底性和有效性。

HTX表示，接下来将探索完成这项任务所需的“灵巧的人形手、精细的运动控制和高分辨率的触觉感知”。

最后，新加坡民防部队可能会看到人形机器人执行为救护车补充医疗用品的例行重复性任务。

新加坡的人力资源和土地限制

童先生表示，全球公共安全机构都在利用科技来提高警员的安全保障。

他说，例如，2019 年巴黎消防员派出机器人进入燃烧的巴黎圣母院，机器人也协助清理福岛核电站，在人类不应该进入的放射性环境中作业。

唐先生表示，在新加坡人力资源有限、劳动力老龄化且未来几年只会更快老龄化的背景下，这种做法尤为重要。

2026年9月24日，在内政部人形机器人中心（H2RC），内政部的人形机器人正在评估和识别面前的不同物体，然后执行任务。（图片：CNA/Syamil Sapari）

“内政团队和其他所有部门一样，都面临着人力资源短缺的问题。新加坡的人力资源是有限的，但对我们服务的需求却不断增长。随着人口老龄化、检查站日益繁忙以及犯罪案件日益复杂，医疗紧急情况必然会增加。单靠增加人手是无法解决这些问题的，”他说道。

土地限制是另一个因素，因为这里的紧急情况发生在“人口稠密、高层建筑林立、高度密集且彼此距离很近、日益地下化的城市”中。

“我们没有广阔的空间或基础设施之间的距离，因此事故经常发生在狭小的空间里，靠近人群。”

“通常情况下，这两个因素意味着几乎没有出错的余地。同时，这些事件必须在威胁演变或扩散之前迅速而准确地解决，”唐先生说。

唐先生表示，之所以选择人形机器人，是因为“人形机器人可以去到我们警员能去的地方，使用我们警员使用的工具，而我们自己无需重新设计周围的环境”。

他表示，下一步是超越预编程机器人，迈向具身人工智能，使机器人能够在动态的真实世界环境中学习、感知、推理和行动。

2026年9月24日，在内政团队人形机器人中心（H2RC），一名内政团队人形机器人通过虚拟现实设备远程操控。（图片：CNA/Syamil Sapari）

“但是，经过工厂车间训练的机器人并不知道如何在重大事故现场安全有效地操作，”童先生说。

“因此，为了让人形机器人为内政团队服务，我们必须用真实的公共安全数据训练它们。而这正是H2RC将使我们能够做到的。”

童先生表示，H2RC还将汇集相关行业实体的专业知识以及研究和学术机构的问题解决技巧。

周三，HTX 和 ST Engineering 也签署了一份谅解备忘录，以进一步加强双方在该领域的合作。

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