In 2014 Anis Sahbani founded Enova Robotics in the eastern coastal Tunisian town of Hamman Sousse. A year later he produced PGuard – a robot-police officer ‘Robocop’ to carry out security patrols. Little did he know that 6 years later his invention would deliver smart policing services to help curb the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.
PGuard is remotely operated and is equipped with thermal and infrared imaging cameras together with a sound and light alarm system. The robot was widely used in use in the Tunisian capital, to help effect a COVID-19 curfew. “What are you doing? Show me your ID. You don’t know there’s a lockdown?” – PGuard would automatically call out lockdown violators on the streets.
The success of PGuard has seen more orders for the ‘Robocop’ by both local and international buyers. Enova Robotics now plans to launch another robot in a Tunis hospital to help COVID-19 patients to communicate with their families.
