Weighing in at 78kg and standing at 1.49 meters tall, "Anbot" is being billed as "China's first robot security guard." The system made its debut at the Chongqing Hi-Tech Fair earlier today.

"The security robot is capable of autonomous patrol, intelligent monitoring, emergency calls, auto recharging and has optional modules for environmental monitoring, biochemical detection and clearing explosives," reports Xinhua.

With the aid of its "intelligent video surveillance," the robot looks more like a roving spy for the state than a cyborg crime-fighter.

It also has the ability to detect when people are calling for "help," which presumably means that raised voices of any kind will attract the attention of the robot while it is on patrol.

The robot, which can "react during emergencies," will be "used in many public places such as airports, stations and subways to help with police officers' anti-riot missions," according to Wei Quansheng, an officer from Beijing's Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Although the country's Communist government keeps its citizens in line with a police state to rival any other, occasional outbreaks of social disorder keep the Chinese elite on edge.