A new directive in Singapore, set to launch in June, will allow elderly and disabled people who cannot physically get to museums to see exhibitions with the help of a mobile ‘telepresence’ robot.

The programme, an initiative of the National Heritage Board of Singapore, will allow them to tour the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, the Malay Heritage Centre and the Indian Heritage Centre and even communicate with a museum guide remotely via the robot.

Called Be My Robo Date, the initiative will make the three museums the first in Asia to provide such a service.

Visitors will install software and book their visits online in advance. During their tour of the museum, they will control the robot and look around at a chosen pace.

Currently being trialled at a Singapore nursing home before its roll-out, the robot is equipped with an assisted driving function to avoid crashing into visitors who are physically inside the museum and the exhibits themselves. It also features a zoom function, so that remote visitors can get up close to artefacts and objects.

"Our main objective is to reach out to under-served communities," said Alvin Tan, assistant CEO at the National Heritage Board of Singapore.

"We want the robot to function as their eyes, ears and legs, giving visitors the autonomy to go at their own pace."