Forget RoboCop: Robo-guard Patrols Korean Prisons, Foresees Trouble

While there are a number of robots in fiction created to fight crime or hang out with the heroes of the plot line, few ideas for robotic cops have surfaced in real life. But prisons in South Korea are now testing a robot designed to make the roughest of cell blocks safer for both guards and prisoners.

Robo-guard displays its smarts in the way it interacts with humans: As it patrols corridors containing inmates, it can sense how a person is feeling. If it senses any abnormalities, it will transmit its data in real-time to the control center for further action.

Inside, Robo-guard contains a number of cameras (including a 3D one), a microphone, and software designed for analyzing human emotions. Officers can also speak to inmates without having to leave the control room, and even though Robo-guard is autonomous, it can be controlled manually via an iPad. Ife it determines that an incident may ensue, based on an inmates’ behavior, it will alert human officers to come to the scene. The robot can protect inmates against attacks, suicide, and arson.

Developers are hoping to create a prison robot that can also undertake strip searches, but at least until technology supports such functions, Robo-guard’s ability to sense trouble is pretty amazing.

Check out the video below to see how the software works and how things look from the control-room end:

[Reuters]

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