Only thing missing is one of these:
Posted on 11/25/2011 9:45:59 PM PST by JerseyanExile
A jail in the eastern city of Pohang plans to run a month-long trial with three of the automatons in March.
The machines will monitor inmates for abnormal behaviour. Researchers say they will help reduce the workload for other guards.
South Korea aims to be a world leaders in robotics. Business leaders believe the field has the potential to become a major export industry.
The three 5ft-high (1.5m) robots involved in the prison trial have been developed by the Asian Forum for Corrections, a South Korean group of researchers who specialise in criminality and prison policies.
It said the robots move on four wheels and are equipped with cameras and other sensors that allow them to detect risky behaviour such as violence and suicide.
Prof Lee Baik-Chu, of Kyonggi University, who led the design process, said the robots would alert human guards if they discovered a problem.
"As we're almost done with creating its key operating system, we are now working on refining its details to make it look more friendly to inmates," the professor told the Yonhap news agency.
The one-month trial will cost 1bn won (£554,000) and is being sponsored by the South Korean government.
It is the latest in a series of investments made by the state to develop its robotics industry.
The country's Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in January that it had spent the equivalent of £415m on research in the sector between 2002 and 2010.
It said the aim was to compete with other countries, such as Japan, which are also exploring the industry's potential.
In October the ministry said the Korean robot market had recorded 75% growth over the past two years and was now worth about £1bn.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
RoboCop, eh?
Only thing missing is one of these:
interesting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoXlomcmDXs&list=FLLBSYHqFQCmCkmPaaMRgQ4g&index=19&feature=plpp_video
Bwahahahaha!
What could possibly go wrong?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoXlomcmDXs&list=FLLBSYHqFQCmCkmPaaMRgQ4g&index=19&feature=plpp_video
All this has happened before. And it will happen again...
CC
No need to waste time alpha and beta testing that robot that opens fire automatically, just put the first production model in the programmers’ offices. You’ll either assure zero defect software, or make sure any defects are non-recurring.
Might work from this standpoint: Some years ago I read where a prisoner was acting up in his jail cell, screaming for the warden and doing his tantrum thing. The prison officials put a video camera on a tripod, pointed the camera at the cell, turned it on and left.
Watching the tape later revealed that the perp carried on for another five minutes or so and when he saw that dumb camera just staring at him with no response, he quieted down.
bmfl
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