Press Release: The HARD-CORPS From ARAI

April 1, 2019
The ARAI Corporation announces release of a fully autonomous law enforcement android system. The wave of the future is upon us.

In what is perhaps the biggest development in law enforcement since the advent of the portable radio or wearable body camera systems, Advanced Robotics & Autonomous Intelligence, Inc. (ARAI) announced on March 31st, 2019 their release of H.A.R.D.-C.O.R.P.S., an operationally independent android law enforcement robot. Per the company’s limited information release, the acronym HARD-CORPS stands for Highly Advanced Reactionary Droid - Circumstance Oriented Readiness Protection System. The company touts this robot as “a fully independent, educated but continually learning, lethally and less-lethally armed synthetic life form born for one purpose: to protect and serve.”

The HARD-CORPS system is reportedly the first of its kind and was designed to not only operate as a law enforcement professional, free of prejudice and human weakness, but also as an Emergency Medical Technician, general mechanic, counselor, teacher and more. Company President, Elroy Devias said one of their biggest problems was finding a uniform suitable to all those roles “We didn’t want Hecky [how they pronounce the nickname ‘HC’] to look only like a law enforcement official given that his programming covers such a wide variety of duties, many of which are performed by law enforcement but which are rarely credited to them.

Devias said that the solution was the creation of a utility blue uniform crafted of a proprietary material incorporating nano-fiber-optic weave elements that could change color dependent on an almost immeasurable electric charge being flowed into them. As a result, the uniform can be a mix of blue, black, dark green, gray, light brown, or white.  On the shirt there is a small optic badge panel that can be programmed to display any agency’s badge in a variety of finishes such as silver, brass, gold, etc. and with six lines of programmable text.

When asked about what kind of armor the android would wear or be equipped with, Devias explained that the unit’s “skin” was made from a flexible tri-dutronium micro-fiber material that rendered the entire unit, with the exception of the eyes, puncture resistant even to high velocity projectiles.  When asked to define “high velocity projectiles,” Devias said they’d successfully tested the unit for resistance up to and including .50 caliber projectiles so far. There is more testing planned in the near future.

Hecky’s computing core - the “brain” of the unit as Devias referred to it - is completely encapsulated in an armored and sealed case in the main torso of the unit. The company jokingly refers to it as the “black box” of the android and they developed a protocol for retrieval if the android is somehow damaged beyond function.

Devias was also quick to point out that the S in HARD-CORPS stands for “system” and is not limited to the android unit itself. The system includes a specially designed patrol sedan, several lethal and non-lethal weapons as well as advanced communications devices and one medical device - an Automatic Electronic Defibrillator or AED. If Hecky responds to a medical emergency and finds a person requiring CPR, he is fully programmed to provide such, but also has sensors in his fingertips that constantly monitor the heart rate of his patient and deliver the necessary shock, just like an AED, if the need for such is sensed. Using those sensors, HC’s system also can monitor a patient’s body temperature, heart rate and blood oxygen levels. 

Devias stated that all of the system’s weapons have integrated cameras that feed in to the patrol sedan’s audio and video recording unit for future use, not only as evidence in any legal proceedings but for on-going review and evaluation of Hecky’s performance. The video is also stored in the central processing unit inside the “black box” as discussed earlier.

Devias’ only voiced concern was how the public would respond to an artificial intelligence synthetic life form that can exercise lethal force and as big as Hecky is. When asked for specifics, Devias stated that the android, as produced, is just under seven feet tall and structured like “a muscular” human. Hecky has reportedly passed every test for climbing stairs, ladders and running obstacle courses.

About ARAI

Advanced Robots & Autonomous Intelligence Inc. (ARAI) is a completely fictional company created to support this completely fictional press release about the new law enforcement android, HARD-CORPS.  The acronym ARAI is pronounced “awry” – defined as “with a turn or twist to one side; askew: away from the expected or proper direction; amiss; wrong.” The company President’s name, Devias is pronounced “devious” – defined as “not straightforward; shifty or crooked.”  SO… Happy April Fools’ Day!!

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