KornTech Rogun robot recognises faces, friend or foe

KornTech, a Korean venture company (entirely unrelated to the nu-metal band Ko?n), has developed a one meter tall robot named Rogun that can identify faces, walk on two feet, and alert owners to intruders via cellphone. Rogun's primary claim to robot fame is his facial recognition using embedded cameras and "high-end face-tracking software," and his ability to walk (a skill which humans take years to learn). Proving once and for all that the Teletubbies were robots underneath their cuddly exteriors, Rogun has a 7-inch LCD in his stomach region for displaying brainwashing material entertainment for the kids. If adults don't mind talking to Rogun's middle region, his screen can even route through a video call thanks to included WiFi: just say "Eh-Oh." Due to translation issues with the original article, we're not completely sure that this is an accurate figure, but as far as we can tell the Rogun is going for $1 million, each. A rather large amount to plunk down on a security system that can be disabled through a well placed push, but as with all technology, the price will come down as things get more advanced.

[Via Engadget Chinese]

[wellingj @ May 27th 2007 2:50AM]

Well it could be a Linux based robot... then it would be free of Virus and Spy Ware...

[E-Rock @ May 27th 2007 12:17AM]

I thought Robocop taught us a valuable lesson about letting robots discern differences in people when ED-209 blew that guy away in the board meeting.

[matjet @ May 27th 2007 12:54AM]

im about 90% sure engadget has already, fairly recently, covered this particular robot.

[Mills @ May 27th 2007 3:51AM]

i am 100% sure. the writing is almost verbatim as well. its like really bad deja vu or just really bad communication. funny that the engadget editors dont read the site as often as its readers.

[Danny Mendez @ May 27th 2007 2:54AM]

this reminds me of an aqua teen hunger force episode in which frylock has a robot watch the house when the aqua teens go out on vacation and then when carl enters the house to make some 1-900 phone calls the robot flies to cancun to alert frylock that there's an intruder in the house and then the robot shoots the girl frylock was with because he thought she was stealing his wallet. hilarious episode...

[Billy @ May 27th 2007 3:29AM]

very good.

[Billyzeng @ May 27th 2007 3:41AM]

wow, fantastic!!!

[Billyzeng @ May 27th 2007 3:45AM]

book

[Tom Yu @ May 27th 2007 4:17AM]

wow power leveling

[wow power leveling @ May 27th 2007 4:18AM]

test haha

[panik @ May 27th 2007 6:16AM]

this has already been posted last week..duh

[Trowa @ May 27th 2007 9:03AM]

This looks rather similar to the now dead Qrio doesn't it.... especially the legs.

[Cosmos @ May 27th 2007 1:09PM]

This technology will be useful when the robots need to eliminate humans without destroying surrounding infrastructure which they could later utilize in constructing their machine utopias.

Wtf is in this soda I'm drinking?

[Mössing @ Jun 5th 2007 7:27PM]

geez... i read the original chinese article, and it only says it costs 100,000 american dollars. thats still pretty steep, to say the least, but its definitely a lot different from a million!

what was the 'problem with the translation' anyway?