El 2 de diciembre de 2014 la Fundación Ramón Areces organizó en colaboración con Mujeres por África la primera Jornada 'Ellas investigan' con el lema 'Mujer, ciencia, tecnología e innovación en África'. Diferentes ponentes abordaron desde un punto de vista multidisciplinar qué medidas habría que tomar para impulsar el desarrollo científico y tecnológico en este continente como motor de progreso global.

1. Presenting the
« Intelligent Traffic Cop Robot »

2. The problem

3. According to the WHO’s 2013 annual report, every year almost 1.24 million people around the
world die as a result of road accidents. Pedestrians (22%), cyclists (5%) and motorcyclists (23%)
make up half of these deaths.
WORLD ROAD SAFETY
SITUATION REPORT 2013:
SUMMARY
World
Europe Eastern Mediterranean
South-East Asia
The Americas Africa Western Pacific
■Vehicle occupants
■Two- or three-wheeled motor vehicles
■Cyclists
■Pedestrians
■ Other
Africa is the part of the world with the highest road accident death rate – 43% of the total –
and 38% of these are pedestrians, as African road users include more pedestrians than
people using motor vehicles or other means of road transport.

4. In view of the figures, road accidents are one of the main
causes of death worldwide.
In Africa, 26 people an hour die because of road accidents,
even though the whole of Africa only has 2% of the total
number of cars in the world.
Nowadays, with steadily expanding road networks and
greater numbers of vehicles moving increasingly fast, road
safety has become a basic public health challenge.
Speeds in urban areas
Speed limit:
■Under 50 km/hour
■60-90 km/hour
■No speed limit
N/A
Drinking and driving
Laws forbidding drinking and driving:
■0.0015-0.05 g/dl (15-50 mg/100ml)
■0.06-0.08 g/dl (60-80 mg/100ml)
■No law or no tests
N/A

5. In many countries in the world, thousands of people live with
daily traffic jams of gigantic proportions that bring towns and
cities to a halt and paralyse the nation’s economy. Pedestrians
are dangerously exposed as they cross the road.

6. PHOTO POLICIER

7. The existing traffic light system at crossroads
At crossroads with four (4)
traffic lights there is often a
problem with car drivers who
do not obey them.
If a power cut stops the traffic
lights working, this can cause
accidents between vehicles
and other road users.

8. After a hit-and-run
accident, it is difficult
to identify who is
responsible as there is
no security camera.
This also means that the public purse loses out, as the offenders
cannot be punished with fines.

9. The Women’s
Technology project

10. Aims of the project:
- Raise the profile of women engineers
- Encourage innovation by moving from craft industries to industrial
production lines
- Create jobs for young people
- Encourage girls to take an interest in new technologies, which are a basic
issue for development throughout Africa and for the whole world.

11. Women’s Technology has been asked by UN Women to find an
innovative technological solution to transport in South Kivu,
where the women carry the goods in heavy bundles

12. Supporting blind women

13. Women’s Technology also provides material and financial aid
to send children at risk and VIH/AIDS orphans to school

14. The Intelligent Traffic Cop Robot concept
Public services need new technologies to increase their
capacity. We designed the Intelligent Traffic Cop Robot as a
road safety and traffic management tool, after observing the
problems encountered by road users and the agencies
responsible for traffic and road safety in Kinshasa.
Our robot is intended to serve the population in many towns
in the world that have the same traffic and road safety
problems as Kinshasa. Road users need more protection
against traffic accidents and against the behaviour of other
road users who place them in danger.

15. How the Intelligent Traffic Cop Robot works
The « Intelligent Traffic Cop Robot » :
- Directs traffic
- Educates road users
- Regulates flows and adapts to the needs of the moment
- Uses surveillance cameras.

16. Its technology
The robot helps pedestrians, who
do not always understand the
language of automatic traffic lights.
Its synthesised voice tells drivers:
“Drivers, you should make way for
pedestrians” and pedestrians:
“Pedestrians, you can cross the
La sortie de voix road”.
The robot withstands high temperatures and high humidity and its
detection system tells it when pedestrians can cross safely.

17. The robot works even when there is
a power cut. Because of its
autonomy (thanks to solar energy) it
also improves road safety by
providing video surveillance.
In place of eyes it has 4 cameras
that cover a 360°radius over a
distance of 200 metres during the
day and 500 metres at night
(infrared) and can store the data
for six (6) months.

18. The Intelligent Traffic Cop Robot’s traffic control and
long-distance video surveillance functions make it a
preferred choice for road safety, replacing traffic signs
(inconvenient because of their number) at crossroads.
This makes it a useful tool for the authorities.

19. A voice message tells pedestrians
they can cross. Because they hear
the message regularly, the robot
makes road users aware of the
highway code and the need to
obey it.

20. To date, we have made two models:
- 1st generation: at the side of the road to help
pedestrians cross safely.
- 2nd generation: at the centre of a crossroads to direct
the traffic and give pedestrians more protection. A
very busy crossroads.

21. The ITCR’s components:
The Intelligent Traffic Cop Robot (ITCR) has two parts:
1.The automaton: installed on a plinth, is highly visible to road
users. This towering humanoid structure can see, speak and feel
(it is able to detect the presence of humans).
2.The monitoring console is installed at a distance (e.g. at the
police station):Thanks to the automaton’s 4 high definition
digital cameras, it captures road user identification data over a
360°radius. The images are sent to a server in real time,
through a computer network, to be used appropriately.

22. How the data treatment centre operates
From the functional point of
view, the data collected by the
robot arrive instantly at the
network operations centre
(NOC). The NOC uses an intranet
system to process the data and
place them at the disposal of the
public (security) services.
Cameras in the automaton’s eyes and shoulders film the traffic
continually.

23. Usefulness to users and public
services

24. Functional flow diagram
ANR POLICE ARMY
DGI POLICE DGRK OU
TREASURY
DGRAD offender

25. Security and financial benefits of the ITCR
- Improved road safety
- A greater improvement intraffic offence-related public
revenues thanks to identification and prosecution of offenders
- Job recruitment among a number of skilled groups
(electronic, electrical and electromechanical engineers,
computer specialists, analysts, etc.) for robot operation and
maintenance
- Strengthening the capacity of young engineers and
technicians to work in innovative areas and sparking an
interest in ICT training among girls.

26. Innovative features
This robot combines a number of traffic control devices (traffic
lights, radar, surveillance video). Instead of 4 or 12 traffic light
posts, the Intelligent Traffic Cop Robot’s technology all fits into
one automaton, avoiding a proliferation of devices.
It works 24 hours a day and withstands downpours and other
weather conditions thanks to its structure and the quality of
the materials used.
Being powered by solar energy, power cuts are not a problem.

27. The robot does not replace the police but
makes their daily task easier by adapting the
traffic management to the flow of vehicles. It
allows more time where traffic is heavy and
adapts to different conditions (rain, darkness,
traffic jams).The system we have developed
can time changes to meet peak hour demands
and a speed sensor addresses the risk that
excessive speeds pose for drivers and
pedestrians.

28. Women’s Technology
First manufactured in 2013, the Intelligent
Traffic Cop Robot is a “Made in DR Congo”
invention by a team led by a woman engineer from
the Democratic Republic of Congo.
womenstechnologies@gmail.com
Women’s Technology

30. MERCI
THANK YOU