Robot Guards in Japan

While the rest of the world was stressing over nano-technology turning into a great green mess and consuming us like electrochemically charged yum-packs, Japanese security company ALSOK was busy developing a series of killer death robots guard robots to protect and serve.  Now, for the paltry sum of $10,000 to $20,000, you can have a system incorporating several of these intimidating metal beasties, which will patrol your corridors (or bedroom) using four video cameras to monitor for security incursions and leaky pipes, reporting back to their human overlord at a central control point.

Not wishing to be melodramatic, but I'm sure this spells painful death for us all.  The robots are fitted with speech synthesisers and RFID card scanners, using semi-autonomous behavioural patterns to interact with and probably interrogate people they come into contact with.  Yes, they look cute at first, but will they still be so appealing when you're backed up against a wall having "scan appropriate ID!" barked at you in a vocoder baritone?

Apparently they're already loose in a Japanese shopping centre, and due to be released into ten other locations by next year.  Remember, kids – only the cleansing power of fire and bricks will bring these demons down.  Long live the human revolution!

ALSOK [via Coolest Gadgets]