A robot named Alantim has been developed by Russian scientists as a bionic bodyguard for England fans arriving in Russia for the 2018 World Cup.
Moscow Technological Institute (MTI) has released a video of Alantim, a robot pledging to provide security for England on their trip to Russia to watch the tournament, in an attempt to allay any fears fans have about safety in the country.
In the one minute 20 second clip, Alantim, donning a scarf with the English three lions and the Russian eagle, promises to use his specialist cyber intelligence to protect and serve supporters.
“My name is Alantim, I work as an interpreter at Moscow Technological Institute,” says the robot in the video.
“I read online that many English football fans doubt whether a trip to Russia is safe. There’s nothing for you to worry about, I will be your defense.
“We promise to take you around Moscow, where I will guard you from any problems. I can summon police, resolve arguments… and even predict a conflict on the basis of the emotions of those around me.”
Alantim also flaunts of his fluent English skills by signing off his address to England fans with the message: “To the Russia, try our kasha (porridge).”
The footage shows the bot bot equipped with surveillance cameras weaving in between fans at Spartak Moscow’s home stadium, which will be renamed ‘Spartak Stadium’ by 2018 in time to host matches at the World Cup.
The World Cup in Russia will take place next summer in 12 stadiums in 11 host cities. This summer, Russia will also host the FIFA 2017 Confederations Cup, which serves as a precursor to the World Cup and will be held in Sochi, Kazan, Moscow, and St. Petersburg.
MTI prides itself on bringing together fundamental traditions of Russian academic education in the field of new educational technologies in order to train highly qualified specialists in the area of high technology.
Alantim the robot is also being promoted on Twitter under the hashtag #robotmti (#роботмти).