ASC Arjun has been designed to support security surveillance, crowd management, cleanliness monitoring and safety awareness while reducing manpower burden and improving response time.
IMAGE: East Coast Railway introduced a humanoid robot ASC Arjun at the Visakhapatnam railway station. Photograph: East Coast Railway/X
In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the Indian Railways, the Waltair division of the East Coast Railway zone has introduced a humanoid robot ASC Arjun at the Visakhapatnam railway station to enhance passenger safety, security and service delivery.
What Can ASC Arjun Do?
The robot has been deployed under the aegis of the Railway Protection Force as part of its modernisation and digital transformation drive, aimed at strengthening security operations and improving passenger assistance.
Divisional Railway Manager Lalit Bohra said the robot is equipped with advanced AI, Internet of Things connectivity and real-time monitoring capabilities, enabling it to function as a smart assistant for both Railway Protection Force personnel and passengers.
ASC Arjun has been designed to support security surveillance, crowd management, cleanliness monitoring and safety awareness while reducing manpower burden and improving response time.
The humanoid robot has been entirely designed and developed in Visakhapatnam through indigenous innovation, with the RPF team working for over a year under the guidance of senior railway and security officials.
Key features include intrusion detection using a face recognition system, AI-based crowd density analysis, multilingual public announcements in English, Hindi and Telugu, and semi-autonomous platform patrolling with obstacle avoidance.
The robot is also capable of real-time situational awareness through an integrated dashboard, fire and smoke detection with instant alerts, and interactive passenger assistance through friendly gestures and information support.
Photographs curated and Feature Presentation by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
© 2026