(FORTUNE Magazine) – Seoul Founded 2001

In the market for home robots that do more than vacuum, there's pretty much one player: Sony, with its both cute and creepy Aibo dog. Korean inventor Park Sang Hoon, 45, thinks he can outdo his Japanese rival by going purely creepy. In July, after spending nearly $2.6 million in venture financing, Park will release a three-wheeled robot that roams your house, scouting for fires or gas leaks and transmitting images to the Internet or a mobile phone. Others are working on similar bots. Sanyo recently announced Banyru, a four-legged gadget whose name means "guard dragon." But Park thinks his unnamed bot has an edge: It costs only about $850, to Sanyo's $17,800. Mostitech, which built the robot in cooperation with SK Telecom, plans to keep its price low while adding features such as face recognition. That way, when a break-in happens, the robot will know whether it has found its master going for a late-night snack or a burglar going for the safe. --Roger Dean du Mars