Chad, June 30 -- During the evening rush hour at the intersection of Tiyuchang Road and Yan'an Road in Gongshu district, Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, Chen Sanchuan, deputy head of the Wulin traffic police squadron, directed traffic on one side, while his "new colleague," a traffic robot, coordinated operations seamlessly on the opposite side.

This robot is part of Hangzhou's first batch of intelligent traffic management units. Standing 1.88 meters tall, it is modeled after the official uniform image of Hangzhou traffic police officers. It wears a black police cap, is outfitted with a fluorescent yellow-green reflective vest, and moves on a four-wheel mobile chassis, giving it a distinctly high-tech look.

So what exactly ca...