China’s robot traffic police can do almost everything except stop you

China deployed 15 humanoid robots around Hangzhou’s West Lake on May 1 to guide pedestrians, manage non-motorised traffic, answer tourist queries and record violations, forwarding footage to a human-run early-warning centre for enforcement. The units operate eight-to-nine-hour shifts, lack stopping power by design, and illustrate China’s push to commercialise mass-produced humanoids despite limited independent performance data.