Thérèse Izay Kirongozi is an engineer and African inventor from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, who invented traffic robots to help manage traffic on the streets of Kinshasa. Her invention has helped ease traffic congestion in the Central African country, pushing the inventor and the women collective team that built it to the limelight.

An Early Dream

Born on 3^rd June, 1973, Thérèse had always had a desire to find solutions for Kinshasa’s growing traffic congestion problems. This desire would grow stronger following the death of her brother in a road accident while she was still young.

Bad roads, indiscipline by drivers and corruption by the human traffic wardens exacerbated the traffic situation in Kinshasa. With the city recording high rates of deaths from road crashes, designing a solution that helped road users avoid these problems became paramount. To provide the help she thought her city needed, the Institute of Applied Techniques graduate teamed up with members of her women’s collective at Women’s Technologies to build an incorruptible giant traffic “Robocop” that would deter even the most undisciplined driver on the street.

Traffic Robot

Izay’s traffic robots are humanoid traffic wardens that regulate traffic. Each traffic robot is armed with cameras on the shoulders and in the eye sockets to help monitor traffic conditions on the streets. Live data feeds are transferred periodically to off-site servers via the antennas hoisted on the robots.

Standing as tall as 2.5 metres and weighing an unforgiving 250 kilos, Izay’s invention seems heavy and large enough to avoid being looted. The aluminium parts also protect the “Robocop” wardens from DRC’s harsh weather.

Izay’s traffic control robots are solar-powered to avoid the power challenges the city faces. To perform their duties, the humanoid wardens swivel their arms to stop the flow of traffic along one lane while allowing its free flow in another. These arms are fitted with red and green lights to make it easy for road users to identify the signs. In addition, the robots offer alerts to pedestrians to tell them when it’s safe to cross the street and when it’s not.

The first generation of robots cost Wotech approximately $15,000 to build. With extra modifications, the newer designs cost the team about $27,000. The women collectively deployed their first robots with the help of the police force in 2013. Since then, Izay’s inventions are visible across 18 municipalities in Congo.

Wotech

The traffic robots are designed and built by Izay’s Women’s Technologies (Wotech), the Kinshasa-based organisation she heads. The organisation focuses on recruiting female engineers who help provide solutions to everyday world problems.

The African inventor has been recognised for her ability to use technology to help solve a crucial societal problem on the streets of Kinshasa. She has held a TED Talk about her invention and has been featured by different media outlets for her invention.

Thérèse sees the successes of her traffic control robots as an opportunity to export her ideas to other countries experiencing similar problems. So far, her traffic robots have been exported to other African countries including Nigeria and Ivory Coast.

As an industrial engineer, the African inventor envisions a city where robots play an even bigger role than they do now. She wants to build robots that sweep the streets and also provide security for the inhabitants of her beloved city.