Korea produce 'Robocap' or 'Terminator1'?

Sophisticated Robot Keeps Homes Safe

By Kim Tae-gyu Staff Reporter A new sophisticated robot will be able to guard your home around the clock and keep you informed on what's happening in the house through your handset even when you are far away.

The nation's top mobile carrier, SK Telecom, on Monday unveiled the security robot, which is to be named later, the first of its kind in Korea and said it could reach consumers as early as this June.

``This is a whole new concept gadget, which will set a new trend of home networking, because this device can move around the home, an SK Telecom official said.

The 50-centimeter tall and 12-kilogram machine was developed through partnerships with venture start-up Mostitech after years of intensive work.

In case of emergencies, like fire or lethal gas leakage, the robot's sensors will detect any potential dangers and the camera-eyed robot will be programmed to snap pictures of the situation and send them with a message to a designated person's cell phone.

Also, when unexpected visitors enter a home, the robot will transmit pictures of them coupled with contingency messages. To gather further information, the recipient can order the robot to survey the suspicious situation or persons through a cell phone or Internet.

Mostitech president Park Sang-hoon said the company will add face-recognition functionality to the robot so that it can guard a home with even better precision.

The battery-operated robot, which moves around on wheels and recharges itself when its batteries run low, will also function as a caretaker and house sitter for kids, as the robot can even read a book.

On top of such rich features, Mostitech is scheduled to provide the attractive machine at a competitive price.

``We will set the price of this robot at around 1 million won ($850). Thus, it can have a competitive advantage over Japan's expensive rivals. We hope our products will be a big hit, Park said.

Japan has so far been at the forefront in the home-robot market with Wakamaru of Mitsubishi and Banryu of Sanyo already available on store shelves.

However, their prices hover well above $10,000, so the robot co-developed by SK Telecom and Mostitech will have the upper hand, price-wise, over Japanese products, Park said.

voc200@koreatimes.co.kr