truesee's Blog

Think battery-powered prison guards, the 21st century technology for correctional facilities — with a South Korean jail rolling out its robot security force this March.

The wide-eyed guards stand just 5 feet tall, travel on four wheels, and don’t complain about working overtime. Three of the bots are set to join the staff in the city of Pohang for a month-long tryout.

The angular robots cost about $860,000 to construct, and come equipped with cameras and sensors to detect suspicious actions or signs of violence.

The creators — members of the Asian Forum for Corrections — said the robots will likely appear less menacing than the stereotypical prison guard or a cyborg-styled Terminator.

“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,” said Prof. Lee Baik-Chu the chief designer, to the Yonhap News Agency.

The robots will start out working the night shift, rolling through prison halls. Human guards can use the machines to keep an eye and an ear on inmates via the robots’ two-way audio and video feeds.

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Entry #6,181

December 6, 2011
5:41 pm

RNC conference calls says attacking Obama may be dangerous for GOP

http://dailycaller.com/2011/12/06/rnc-conference-call-republicans-wary-of-attacking-obama/

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Entry #6,180

December 6, 2011
6:28 am

Airport worker fired for refusing to load dog

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/05/2532577/airport-worker-fired-dog.html

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Entry #6,179

December 6, 2011
5:11 am

Man beaten and shot trying to rob mixed-martial arts expert

Robber tussles with martial-arts expert, gets beaten and shot

Anthony Miranda ((police photo))

Liam Ford

Tribune reporter

1:57 p.m. CST, December 5, 2011

A man who tried to rob a mixed martial-arts expert at gunpoint found himself no match for his intended victim this weekend, police said.

Anthony Miranda, 24, faces a charge of discharging a weapon during a robbery in the Southwest Side attack, which left him wounded in the ankle and badly bruised from his confrontation with the 33-year-old man he robbed, police said.

The victim was sitting in his car near Kenneth Avenue and 55th Street about 11:30 p.m. Friday when a man came up to the car and asked him for a light, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli.

The man in the car replied that he didn't have a light, and the other man pulled out a handgun and demanded the driver's valuables, Mirabelli said. The driver handed over his cash, wallet and valuables, and the gunman then ordered him out of the car.

At some point, the older man was able to grab hold of the handgun, and during a struggle, the robber discharged a round, striking himself in the ankle, Mirabelli said.

The victim was able to hold the robber until police arrived. When he turned the robber over to police, the victim told them that he participates in Ultimate Fighting Championships, a mixed-martial arts competition, Mirabelli said.

After being treated at Holy Cross Hospital, Miranda appeared in Cook County Bond Court Sunday and was ordered held in lieu of $350,000 bail.

Miranda, of the 8900 block of Bronx Avenue in Skokie, is on parole in several 2007 residential burglary cases for which he was sentenced to six years in prison. He was released from prison in March 2010.

He previously served time for convictions in two 2005 burglary cases.

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Entry #6,178