Sophisticated security robots will be deployed in the near future to patrol schools around the clock to protect students from danger

DU Robo said Wednesday that the Seoul-based venture start-up company plans to begin a pilot run of the security robot, dubbed OFRO, in a middle school. This is the first time in the world that a robot will be employed to guard an educational institution, according to DU Robo. ``We are set to check the viability of OFRO as a school robot at a middle school in southern Seoul this week along with KT Telecop,'' DU Robo CEO Kang Jung-won said. ``After going through the feasibility test, we look to commercialize the feature-rich OFRO that retails at around $100,000 as a school guardian,'' he said. Affiliated with the country's dominant fixed-line telecom company KT, KT Telecop offers security services based on landline telephone lines. OFRO, which moves at a maximum speed of 5 kilometers per hour, can automatically patrol areas on pre-programmed maps or it can be manually controlled. Equipped with a camera and a microphone, OFRO also provides visual files to officials of KT Telecop or teachers at schools on a real-time basis. ``One possible scenario is that OFRO will alert officials when it detects someone trying to seduce a student. Then, teachers will send a warning to the perpetrator through a loudspeaker,'' Kang said. ``If the suspicious person refuses to comply with the instruction, KT Telecop guards will be sent there,'' he said. voc200@koreatimes.co.kr

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