Established in 2013, Saeon(www.saeon.co.kr) is a Korean venture company specializing in educational robots. Their signature product, Altino – meaning “high” and “strong” – combines both education and play in what is commonly referred to as EduFun Robots.

As well as various displays, Altino is loaded with seven sensors, including a Gyro sensor, a Compass sensor, a three-axis Acceleration sensor, and an Obstacle sensor, enabling a dynamic learning-to-code experience. In addition, the assembling model is ideal for learning robot mechanism. This product is popular with students and general public alike.

Contained in Altino are three algorithms: wheel drive, multiple electronic gear shifts, and hybrid control. The wheel-drive system in the wheel-drive algorithm is identical to those currently being used in automobiles – during curve maneuvers, the rotation of the left and right tires don’t turn uniformly. The mechanism developed to compensate for the slippage arising from the kinematic structure is now mounted on all vehicles. This mechanical structure is transformed by Saeon into electronic type and mounted onto the robot.

In the multiple electronic gear shift algorithm, when the car is climbing a hill, the gear shifts down. However, existing robots have attempted to resolve these issues by focusing only the motors and gearheads. Saeon Co., Ltd. however uses complex mutual feedback from the motor inside the robot, encoder, main processor, and power control to achieve their intelligent gear shifting.

For the general public, the concept of a hybrid is often associated with a fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly automobile. However, Altino's hybrid brings together two controllers (PID controller and Adaptive controller) so that each controller can compensate for the limitation of the other one, to intelligently maximize the driving efficiency of the robot. Battery use is also efficiently managed.

Altino's special features include: △ Use of the strongest material (polycarbonate) for the exterior △ Ground condition check capability using electricity for intelligent robot control △ Front wheel steering for car-like mechanism △ Dispersion of sensor network to facilitate autonomous driving and various other moving algorithms △ Option to install additional sensors and automatic control mechanisms.

The main functions of Altino include similar steering functions as an actual car, character display with 8ⅹ8 dot matrix, remote control function to receive remote control signals, temperature sensor to monitor the internal temperature of the robot, and a compass to recognize the robot’s current location and its absolute range. It also has an infrared sensor for distance measurement, acceleration measurement for 3-axis direction of robot reference, Bluetooth 2.1, and can be interfaced with a variety of devices. A battery voltage measurement sensor, and ambient light sensor to measure ambient brightness is also included.

The exterior of the product is 97ⅹ180ⅹ64mm (LⅹWⅹH); the wheels are 4 wheel drive with front steering, and the robot can travel up to 50cm/s. It is equipped with a lithium-ion battery and can be used with a beam projector and camera for recreational activities such as maze and land grab games.

Altino is currently in use in robot competition platforms and is exported to overseas countries such as Malaysia. It is a creative innovation company on a mission to “Make imagination real.”