Korea to Adopt Robotic Prison Guards

In a break from tradition, the Korean Ministry of Justice intends to replace some of its human prison guards with robot guardians. The robots are designed to patrol up and down prison corridors, to monitor conditions and alert authorities of any violent activity among inmates.

The robots are designed to patrol the corridors of corrective institutions, monitoring conditions inside the cells. If they detect sudden or unusual activity such as violent behavior they alert human guards.

“Unlike CCTV that just monitors cells through screens, the robots are programmed to analyze various activities of those in prison and identify abnormal behavior,” Prof. Lee Baik-chul of Kyonggi University...

...According to Mr. Lee, prison officers have welcomed the idea because the robots can potentially reduce their workload, particularly at night.

And how about the reaction of inmates?

“That’s a concern. _WSJ

Professor Lee denies that the robots are to be seen "terminators," and insists that his team plans to give the robots a humane appearance so as to increase trust on the part of inmates.

It is at least hoped that the terminator robotic guards will be less prone to being corrupted by bribes and payoffs from prisoners, which is a real problem in some locales -- particularly in women's prisons, where sex is often offered for special favours and for the passage of certain contraband items and messages in and out of the prison.

Rise of Lunar Self-Replicating Robots

Japan is planning a $2.2 billion robot colonising mission to the moon. Giant robots will be delivered to the lunar surface, where they will set about building an unmanned lunar base.

As forward thinking as the Japanese robot mission to Luna may seem, it would be more sustainable if the robots were capable of self-replicating. The hobby replicator enterprise is rapidly evolving and expanding, with some desktop replicators able to build as many as half of all their replacement parts.

It is not so important that each machine be able to replicate itself. Instead, think of colonies of complementary machines, capable of making some of their own replacement parts along with replacement parts for other types of machines. Maintenance and controller machines would be given top time and resource priority, under the discipline of a type of "machine economics."

Speaking of space travel, private space launch company SpaceX plans its debut launch for its Falcon 9 rocket tomorrow, June 4.

The one major hurdle left before the fledgling rocket can attempt to launch is final approval of its flight termination system (FTS), an explosive charge that would destroy the rocket if it flew off course. Both SpaceX and the U.S. air force, which monitors the launch area, must be confident that the system works before Falcon 9 can lift off.

"We are now looking good for final approval of the FTS by this Friday, June 4th, just in time for our first launch attempt," SpaceX officials said in a Tuesday statement.

This test version of Falcon 9 will carry a mockup of SpaceX's Dragon capsule, which is designed to carry cargo, and eventually humans, to the International Space Station. This SPACE.com graphic shows how SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Dragon stack up to other rockets. _Space

Best wishes for a successful launch!