It sounds like the sequel that didn't even make it to DVD: RoboCop's jaded, rotund, less attractive younger brother, who never made the police force -- and tired of living in his sibling's shadow -- took a job as the next best thing: a prison guard. Well, that might not make the silver screen, but it's certainly reality TV. Meet Robo-guard, the world's first robotic correctional officer. Developed in South Korea, Robo-guard is equipped with 3D cameras that let it observe inmates, while special software looks out for changes in behavior. Should anything suspicious be detected, he'll raise the alarm. A lone wolf, he works his beat autonomously, but can also be controlled manually via an iPad, if human colleagues want to check what's going down. Initial field trials are under way right now, and if all goes well, he'll earn a place in more prisons. Who knows, he may even make deputy one day.

Continue reading Robo-guard the South Korean correction service robot says 'stay out of trouble' (video)

Robo-guard the South Korean correction service robot says 'stay out of trouble' (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Apr 2012 09:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS has excelled at building up the global Transformer craze, and although there's been a few hiccups along the way, the quad-core beast is set to start hitting shelves around the world in the weeks ahead. According to Pocket-lint, the Taiwanese company has given confirmation that the newest Eee Pad on the block is hitting Great Britain in January. You'll be surprised to hear that the Prime won't be coming as a lone wolf, instead being bundled with its mighty dock companion and priced at £499 (around $770 in Greenbacks) for the 32GB WiFI-only version. We'd offer you a look at our review in the meantime, but on second thought, that probably makes the wait that much more unbearable...

Transformer Prime heading to UK shelves next month, bundled with dock for complete transformation originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Things must be getting a little weird at Palm right now, as every day seems to add a new piece to an already confusing puzzle. In just two week's time the company has gone from a potential free agent, to a lone wolf, and then back to prospective purchase. Adding more noise to the proceedings, TechCrunch is now reporting that another senior staffer has hit the road, and this time it's Caitlin Spaan, Palm's VP of carrier marketing. Her name gets added to what looks like a growing list of recent Palm departures (not to mention that entire marketing department we hear has been canned). More troubling than that news, however, is a rumor which also appears on TC suggesting that CEO (and putative savior of the company) Jon Rubinstein may be on his way out as well. This report is pure hearsay at this point, but if true would be a major admission on Palm's part that its plans to kickstart the ailing company nearly two years ago are failing (or have just plain failed). Of course, we need to stress that this news just rumor at this stage -- the company offered no comment to Business Insider -- and until we get more solid word, it should be treated as such. As for us, we're hoping the company can pull something salvageable together from this mess and figure out a way to compete at a level of increasingly more difficult stakes.

Another Palm exec is out... and CEO Jon Rubinstein is next? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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