South Korea draws up code of ethics for robots

South Korea, at the forefront of the drive to develop robots which can do anything from guarding the border to caring for the elderly, is now drawing up a code of ethics for them.

The nation, which has set an ambitious goal of a robot in every home by 2013, has launched a project to write what it believes will be the world's first Robot Ethics Charter. It will be released by year's end.

They are setting rules on how far robotic technology can go and how humans live together with robots. The Korean charter will set broad guidelines to curb the use of robots for undesirable or dangerous purposes.

The Robot ethics are part of human ethics. The purpose of this charter is to find ways of coexistence between humans and robots, not to restrict the development of robotics.

Key considerations are ensuring that humans maintain control over robots, preventing their illegal use, protecting data acquired by robots and ensuring that they can be clearly identified and traced.

Military robots will require separate rules not covered in the charter. South Korea last year unveiled a high-tech, machine gun-toting sentry robot designed eventually to support troops guarding the heavily fortified border with North Korea.

South Korea also aims to build the world's first robot theme park called "Robot Land" by 2012. So far, 11 provincial governments and cities have put in bids to host the park.