Skip to main content

Robotic guards coming to South Korean prisons

Guards in a South Korean prison will soon be introduced to some new colleagues – 150cm-tall robots on wheels.

In the latest example demonstrating the country’s interest in robotic technology, the robots will be put to work in a prison in the city of Pohang, located southeast of the capital Seoul, from March next year. If the month-long trial is successful, more prison guards may be turning up to work alongside robots in the near future.

A group of scientists, who developed the robots in cooperation with the country’s justice ministry, spent a billion won ($850,000) developing the robotic prison guard, which is supposed to enable its human counterparts to concentrate more on rehabilitation work with offenders.

The robots, which will be used mainly at night, will patrol the prison on the lookout for suspicious behavior among prisoners. Sensors on the robot will be able to study conditions in the cells and report back to the officer in charge – presumably a human one.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal about the robotic guards, project leader Professor Lee Baik-chul of Kyonggi University said, “Unlike CCTV that just monitors cells through screens, the robots are programmed to analyze various activities of those in prison and identify abnormal behavior.”

Lee said that prison officers are happy about the plan to bring in robots as it should help reduce their workload on the night shift.

Inmates, on the other hand, were more cautious about the idea and asked for reassurance about their role. Presumably they were worried the robots might be heavy-handed brutes, equipped with an array of weapons able to be deployed at a moment’s notice.

“That’s a concern,” Lee said. “But the robots are not terminators. Their job is not cracking down on violent prisoners. They are helpers. When an inmate is in a life-threatening situation or seriously ill, he or she can reach out for help quickly.”

In fact, according to Lee, his team are currently finishing off building the robots, taking special care to make them look “humane and friendly.”

And it’s not just Korean prisons where robots have been put to work. Late last year, schools in the country began testing out teacher-bots in classrooms. The rotund robots, which cost more than $1.3 million to develop, were designed to teach English to students.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Meet the game-changing pitching robot that can perfectly mimic any human throw
baseball hitter swings and misses

Who’s your favorite baseball pitcher? Shane McClanahan? Sandy Alcantara? Justin Verlander? Whoever you said, two of the top sports-tech companies in the U.S. -- Rapsodo and Trajekt Sports -- have teamed up to build a robot version of them, and the results are reportedly uncannily accurate.

Okay, so we’re not talking about walking-talking-pitching standalone robots, as great a sci-fi-tinged MLB ad as that would be. However, Rapsodo and Trajekt have combined their considerable powers to throw a slew of different technologies at the problem of building a machine that's able to accurately simulate the pitching style of whichever player you want to practice batting against -- and they may just have pulled it off, too.

Read more
The best portable power stations
EcoFlow DELTA 2 on table at campsite for quick charging.

Affordable and efficient portable power is a necessity these days, keeping our electronic devices operational while on the go. But there are literally dozens of options to choose from, making it abundantly difficult to decide which mobile charging solution is best for you. We've sorted through countless portable power options and came up with six of the best portable power stations to keep your smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other gadgets functioning while living off the grid.
The best overall: Jackery Explorer 1000

Jackery has been a mainstay in the portable power market for several years, and today, the company continues to set the standard. With three AC outlets, two USB-A, and two USB-C plugs, you'll have plenty of options for keeping your gadgets charged.

Read more
CES 2023: HD Hyundai’s Avikus is an A.I. for autonomous boat and marine navigation
Demonstration of NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show

This content was produced in partnership with HD Hyundai.
Autonomous vehicle navigation technology is certainly nothing new and has been in the works for the better part of a decade at this point. But one of the most common forms we see and hear about is the type used to control steering in road-based vehicles. That's not the only place where technology can make a huge difference. Autonomous driving systems can offer incredible benefits to boats and marine vehicles, too, which is precisely why HD Hyundai has unveiled its Avikus AI technology -- for marine and watercraft vehicles.

More recently, HD Hyundai participated in the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, to demo its NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system for recreational boats. The name mashes together the words "neuron" and "boat" and is quite fitting since the Avikus' A.I. navigation tech is a core component of the solution, it will handle self-recognition, real-time decisions, and controls when on the water. Of course, there are a lot of things happening behind the scenes with HD Hyundai's autonomous navigation solution, which we'll dive into below -- HD Hyundai will also be introducing more about the tech at CES 2023.

Read more