South Korea launches robots on rails to control the border with the DPRK

At the end of June 2021, it became known that South Korea is launching self-learning robots on rails to control the border with the DPRK. The South Korean military plans to add "mobile robots" as part of a "surveillance system based on artificial intelligence," the Korean news outlet Yonhap reports. The article quotes the contract of the Office of the Korean Defense Procurement Program (DAPA) in the amount of $2.5 million for the deployment of bots and an AI surveillance system until the end of 2021.

The robotic system will run along railway tracks laid along the border with North Korea. Two robots will be able to travel on rails at a speed of five meters per second and track moving objects around the clock using high-resolution panoramic cameras and advanced sensors. The AI-based surveillance system will analyze sounds and movements, send an alarm to the duty station if suspicious objects are detected.

South Korea launches robots on rails to control the border with the DPRK

The artificial intelligence system will connect to a closed-circuit television network in South Korea to analyze audio and video for possible invasions.

Since the new system uses deep learning technologies, its detection capabilities will constantly improve, Yonhap reports.

Yonhap journalists also indicated that testing of rail robots will begin in December 2021. Within six months, robots will be evaluated in test mode, after which they are planned to be commissioned, both on the ground border and in the coastal strip. The AI system will be deployed in October 2021.

The use of robots will allow to establish tighter, round-the-clock surveillance, minimize the presence of loopholes and, in general, increase the combat readiness of South Korean troops, "the DAPA said.[1]

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