The new Korean star robotics

Recently, Professor Jun-Ho Oh was crowned “Man of the Year 2004″ from the Institute for Advanced Science and Technology of Korea (Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, KAIST) for his work on robotic humanoid . It meets today in a lengthy interview published on OhmyNews, which explains the characteristics and challenges of humanoid robot Hubo.

Hubo is a direct competitor of Asimo, a robot developed by Honda of Japan: a comparable size (120 cm), he can move on two legs, shake hands or carry out specific tasks. One of its main characteristics is to have hands with each finger are independent. But the father of the robot can boast especially the speed with which it was developed (two years), and budget related: “In fact, it can be more than $ 500 000 was invested in this research, estimated Jun-Ho Oh, and although the total budget is generally estimated at one million USD, it is far from 300 million dollars spent by Honda Asimo over the last 10 years. “I do not think Hubo Asimo is higher. This is incredible and deserves all our respect. But I dare say that the birth of Hubo is an important step in our competition with the Japanese, “summarizes the professor, adding that the Korean robot may soon climb stairs, as is already known to the equivalent nippon.

When asked what good humanoid robots, he says “we can consider three uses.” The first is abstract. A humanoid robot is the symbol of technology and technological expertise. If we were not able to make a robot Asimo comparable to Korea, we could not do recognize our technological credibility. The second use is indirect such research “is a platform for the automation and the artificial intelligence” and can boost the industries likely to provide the components necessary to operate the robot. The last use is direct: “Humanoid robots could itself become an industry,” said Jun-Ho Oh, asserting that she was contacted by a U.S. investor that seeks to create a theme park based on androids.