With the "patrol car of the future", the LZPD NRW has presented a unique concept vehicle. It will not replace the current patrol car models, but has a completely different purpose. This car serves as a technology carrier to test new operational technology. It is a "test object on four wheels", so to speak, and not an operational police vehicle.
We are dealing with a fully electric vehicle with lots of special technology. The experts at the LZPD NRW have already spent over 120 hours developing the "technology carrier" - the tests and trials will continue. The built-in sensor technology alone, which includes cameras and infrared sensors, weighs 25 kilograms. In future, further technical aids are to be tested in and on the "patrol car of the future".
For example, apps that are already available on the more than 35,000 smartphones used by the NRW police are also to be used in the digitalized patrol car to make operations safer. An on-board computer, which is connected to the respective control center and the duty cell phone, shows the police officers real-time information about the operation directly in the patrol car. This information can already be important for assessing the situation on the journey: What is currently happening at the scene? Are there already indications of danger? Are people on the run? How are the people described? In which direction have the people fled?
The "tinkerers" in the Innovation Lab are currently testing the "sensor-based blue light" with integrated video surveillance. This should make it possible to take speed measurements from the car and detect the distance between vehicles in several lanes while driving. This video data is then evaluated by computer in the patrol car.
Since January 2022, the North Rhine-Westphalian police have been researching new, intelligent deployment technology and modern equipment at our Innovation Lab. After the "Spot" police robot, the patrol car of the future is the second "flagship product" of our Duisburg lab. This is where experts from the fields of vehicle technology and IT come together to work on the best possible solutions for the police.
