Thereze Izay Kirongozi

The local population has accepted the robots enthusiastically. An editorial writer, Sam Sturgis, while acknowledging the improvement the robots bring to traffic flow, suggested that they may divert attention from the problem of the unregulated growth of the city on the periphery. ‘People on the streets apparently respect the robots in a way that they don’t follow directions from human traffic cops at one of Kinshasa’s busy intersections,’ says Brian Sokol, photographer of Panos Pictures.

Thérèse has developed humanoid robots that regulate traffic in Kinshasa (the capital city). "There are several robots in the world, but a robot that regulates road traffic and ensures the safety of pedestrians, it's really made in Congo," she proudly says. She is an industrial engineer in electronics, and the head of Women's Technology (Wotech), the association that is manufacturing these robots. There are at least 5 of them that are regulating traffic in Kinshasa. The first generation of robots was commissioned in 2013 and cost about 15,000 dollars each to manufacture, while the latest generation unveiled on march 4, 2015, cost about 27,500 dollars each. They weigh 250 kg each, are 2.5 meters high and are made of aluminium to better withstand the equatorial climate. The autonomy of the robots is provided by a solar panel placed over their head. The solar panels that power the robots could prove a major asset in a city where whole districts still lack electrical power. Made of aluminium, the robots are designed to resist a harsh equatorial climate with high temperatures, humidity and massive downpours. These humanoid traffic robots can rotate their chest and raise their arms like a human traffic officer would do to stop vehicles in one direction, and allow their flow in another one. Some of these robots can detect pedestrians and are programmed to “speak” to tell them when the road can be crossed or not. When they wait to cross, he sings a song that recalls the principles of road traffic.

Thérèse Izay Kirongozi, an engineer from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, designed traffic robots that were initially placed in two locations in Kinshasa towards the end of 2013. By 2015 five robot traffic police were in use in Kinshasa and one in Lubumbashi. The use of robots as traffic lights may be unique to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Izay hopes the government will help by providing funds to produce more robots.

After two prototypes installed in 2013, three "new generation" robots were delivered to the capital in March, and five to the Katangese authorities, including three in Lubumbashi. "This is a positive thing ... in the business of road safety," said Val Manga, head of the National Road Safety Commission. "We need to multiply these intelligent robots to install them at various intersections in the towns and urban agglomerations of our country. The selling price of a unit is around 25,000 dollars (about 22,000 euros) and varies according to the autonomy of its solar panels. Society does not fall asleep on its laurels; the company is developing and evolving its technology. "The robot sends the police, in real time, the images filmed by its cameras. We use a radio beam, but eventually we will switch to fiber optics. The transmission of images will be much faster, "says the project manager. Several other Congolese cities want to acquire these automata. And Women's Technologies also intends to export. Angola, Congo, Ivory Coast and Nigeria are interested. When is the presence of the first humanoid agents made in DR Congo in these countries? "The talks are very advanced," says the head of the company.

Born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo on June 3, 1973. During a press interview, Izay revealed that she did not expect to have such an aura in the field of technology, although she had always dreamed of inventing a device that would reduce the rate of road accidents, since she saw her brother crushed by a vehicle in her early childhood. This shock of losing a being so dear following a road traffic regulation problem will never leave her again and will be her leitmotif in the electronic world. Thus, when in 1993, when she had just blown her twentieth candle and expected to embrace the modeling career, the young Izay quickly responded to the call of a model recruitment agency in Switzerland who sparked a better tomorrow. She had to disappoint after the illusion of "mirificent contracts". "Finally, my father enrolled me at ISTA, while I wanted to pursue my studies in Europe, in another area, and I mistakenly thought that industrial electronics would not solve my problems," she recalls. an interview with pan-African magazine Jeune Afrique.