At Hajime, a shabu-shabu/BBQ restaurant in Bangkok,
Thailand, patrons order via touchscreen and food is served by a robot. But not just any robot! A robot dressed as a
samurai that also breaks into dance during downtime to entertain customers. It
also clears plates.
ROBOT GUARD
Robot
guards with sensors to detect abnormal behaviour will soon begin patrolling
South Korean prisons to ease the burden on their human counterparts,
researchers have said. A group of scientists has developed the robot warders
under a one billion won (£546,000) project organised by the Ministry of
Knowledge Economy.
The robots – 1.5 metres (five feet) high and running on four wheels – will
mostly be used at night. They can connect prisoners with officers through a
remote conversation function, according to a statement from the Asian Forum for
Corrections (AFC), a South Korea-based group of researchers in criminality and
prison policies. It pioneered the project with the justice ministry's
co-operation.
The robots' sensors will enable them to detect abnormalities such as suicidal behavior and violence and report and it to officers in charge, the statement said. Professor Lee
Baik-Chul of Kyonggi University, who led the design process and heads the AFC,
said it was intended to let human guards focus more on correction and
rehabilitation efforts.
ROBOT as a MAID
A robot jointly designed by the Univesity of Tokyo and the Toyota and Honda Motor Corporation
is designed to do the chores a lot of people would opt out of doing if
possible. Japan is expecting to experience labor shortage soon due to
the country’s low birthrate and aging society. That is the reason why a
robot for the service sector was built. In a demonstration for the media
last week, the robot was able to dump clothes in the washing machine,
put away the dishes, and even clean up rooms.
What’s great about this robot is that it can analyze its past mistakes and learn from them, like a
human would. So if it accidentally bumps into your furniture once, it
wouldn’t happen again. The robot weighs 287 pounds and stands at around
five feet tall. It has laser sensors to detect obstruction of way, five
recognition cameras, two arms, and wheels for mobility. The developers
aim to improve the robot more in the future.
ROBOT as a TEACHER
South Korea is testing robots that could help foreigners to reach out
and teach someone. 29 robots were recently deployed in 21 schools in the
city of Daegu to help human children learn English. The bots, named
EngKey, can be used as telepresence platforms to bring experienced
educators from the Philippines into the classroom via a small screen at
the head of the robot. The Filipino teachers communicate using embedded
microphones and speakers. These bots were developed by the Korean
Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and are part of a larger
scale automation of English education. South Korea is hoping to have a robot in every kindergarten classroom by 2013. Around 150 government officials were on hand at Hakjung Elementary
School for the start of EngKey’s telepresence trials, which are
estimated to cost 1.6 billion won (~$1.39 million USD). While this is
only a small step towards Korea’s grandiose goals of robotic education,
it’s a good sign that the nation is serious about automation in schools.
Give it time and robots could become as common in Korean classrooms as
chalkboards.