MALAGA, Spain - Police in Malaga took a robot dog on a trial patrol through the centre of the Spanish city on Tuesday to the joy of bystanders, some of whom imitated its clunky gait or introduced their pets to the whirring contraption with flashing lights on top.

Designed by University of Malaga researchers over the past two years to support police work and spot traffic violations such as the use of electric scooters in prohibited areas, the green-and-black, four-legged robot is remote-controlled for now, but will eventually integrate artificial intelligence to work on its own.

"What stands out in this project is that we are using 5G technology for the remote operation of the robot, to carry out image analysis and detect dangerous situations," said researcher Almudena Diaz.

  - Reuters