This year's domestic robot industry burned hotter than ever. Large Korean corporations stepped into the robot business, and the winds of M&As that blew in the overseas robotics companies made landfall here in Korea as well. In order to promote R&D, demonstration centers and research development bases were opened in each region, and a robotics industry technology roadmap was also announced. The Robot Newspaper ends 2017 by selecting the 10 most memorable events to look back on in the robotics industry both here in Korea and abroad. The “Top 10 Domestic Robot News” will be featured on the 27th, followed by the “Top 10 Global Robot News” on the 28th.

① Steady Influx of Large Corporations into the Robotics Market

▲LG Electronics' service robots are installed and operated in shopping malls.

2017 was marked by successive reports of large-sized companies entering the robots business. LG Electronics, a household name and makers of the renowned home cleaning robot, announced their entry into the robotics market at CES, which was held at the outset of the 2017. The announcement came with the unveiling of a number of strategic products, including the home robot “Hub Robot,” lawn mower robot, and airport robot. Hanwha Techwin and Doosan Robotics have also entered the industrial robot market with collaborative robots.

Naver, Korea's largest portal, also announced its entry into the robotics market. Through their intelligence company “NAVER LABS,” the company has promoted nine types of robots, including an autonomous driving service robot, “AROUND”; an electric cart, “AIRCART”; the “Cheetah Robot,” developed through industry-academia cooperation with MIT in the US, and the jumping robot, still in development with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne (UIUC), and the self-driving “TT-bot” with object recognition capabilities. Hyundai Robotics, though no neophyte in the robotics industry, was reincarnated as a robot company through a spin-off from Hyundai Heavy Industries. Hyundai Motors also introduced a medical wearable device (H-MEX) to aid paraplegics with the lower half of the body, and an industrial wearable device (H-WEX) to prevent back injuries to workers in the industrial field by supporting muscle strength. As large companies steadily slip into the robot market, their presence is expected to bring about a shift in the robotics industry landscape.

② The Domestic Collaborative Robots Market Heats Up

▲Hanwha Techwin unveiled their collaborative robot HCR-5

Up to now, the collaborative robot market has been dominated by foreign companies, but with the aggressive launchings of domestic collaborative robots, Korea is now head first into the era of collaborative robots. Hanwha Techwin unveiled their collaborative robot HCR-5 at the end of March and officially announced its entry into the market. Doosan Robotics has also completed a collaborative robot factory at the Suwon Industrial Complex in Gosaek-dong, Suwon and has begun mass production of collaborative robots.

Of course, the intensifying development and supply of collaborative robots was not limited to large corporations. SBB Tech, a robot parts company, and neuromeka have also developed their own collaborative robots and have ventured into the market. SBB Tech has developed and are selling collaborative robots based on their modular robot actuator; neuromeka has developed and launched an introductory type collaborative robot, “Indy,” based on a smart connected robot.

③ HUBO, Robot Torch Relay in Olympic First

▲HUBO, Robot Torch Relay in Olympic First

Robots developed by Korean robot scientists successfully completed the first torch relay in Olympic history. The humanoid robot HUBO was made world-famous when it won grand prize at the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) held by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2015. On the 11th, HUBO was in the spotlight again when it carried the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games Olympic Torch at KAIST in Daejeon.

Professor Dennis Hong of UCLA, a global robot scientist, and Professor Junho Oh of KAIST, HUBO’s developer, also participated in the torch relay ceremony. On the day of the torch relay, HUBO stepped off an autonomous vehicle in which he rode with Professor Hong. After receiving the torch from Prof. Hong, HUBO re-enacted some of his winning DRC moves such as removing a wall with a drill to hand over the torch to Professor Oh. Professor Oh then passed the torch onto an ICT Dream Tree [an aspiring future robot scientist], who sat atop the boarding-type robot “FX-2.”

Prior to this event, the underwater walking robot “Crabster,” developed using only domestic technology, was in the spotlight as a torchbearer along with the Jeju Haenyeo in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Torch Relay. With this first Olympics Robot torch relay, Korea was able to showcase the strength of their robotic technology to the world.

④ Building Regional Bases for Robot R&D

▲Korea Institute of Robot and Convergence is working on a “Robot Safety Demonstration Center”

Robot R & D bases and demonstration centers will be added to each region this year to contribute to the development technology in the domestic robot industry. Last June, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in cooperation with the city of Pohang in Gyeongbuk Province opened an “Underwater Robot Demonstration Complex” under the aegis of the “Underwater Robot Construction Project” in Pohang. The Korea Institute of Robot and Convergence is working on a “Robot Safety Demonstration Center” and a “Field Farm Robot Demonstration Center.” The institute held a groundbreaking ceremony for the “Robot Safety Demonstration Center” in Pohang this past November, and plans are underway to establish the “Field Farm Robot Demonstration Center” in Andong City. These demonstration centers will be used as testbeds for the development underwater robots, national safety robots, and field farming robots.

Strategic bases for the development of humanoid robots and soft robots are also in place. The Humanoid Robot Research Center opened in KAIST in January, and Soft Robotics Research Center (SRRC) at Seoul National University was opened in June.

An investment of 15 billion won over the next five years until 2020 has been earmarked to develop a high-speed, high-power humanoid robot platform; elemental technology and core components to advance the field in walking and handling performance; and to train 100 Master’s and Doctoral-level researchers. Over the next 7 years, Soft Robotics Research Center (SRRC) will carry out research on human-centered soft robot technology based on government funding amounting to 12.5 billion won.

⑤ The Winds of Global M&As make Landfall in Korea

▲Hancom MDS acquired CoreBell. Photo of the Corebell logistics robots

The winds of global robot M&As have crossed into Korea. Hancom MDS, a newcomer to the robot market this year and a subsidiary of the Hancom Group, acquired CoreBell, an intelligent robots company. Futurerobot has entered into a strategic alliance with an equity investment with the optics maker Digitaloptics. A subsidiary of Korea Yakult, CUREXO – surgical robot specialists – acquired Hyundai Heavy Industries' Medical Robots Division for KRW11.1 billion.

In addition, YUJIN ROBOT, a visible middle-sized robot company, entered into a partnership with German’s premium home appliance company, Miele, who committed investment funds totaling KRW 52 billion. In addition to cleaning robots, the two companies have plans to commercialize service robots such as hospital logistics robots, which are currently in development by YUJIN ROBOT, and plan to aggressively integrate robotic technologies such as AI, Big Data, and IoT into Miele’s product line. In addition, DST Robot acquired a 30% stake in China Intelligent Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd., a Chinese industrial robot company. Naver became parent company to the Japanese start-up Gatebox.

As the M&A enthusiasm surrounding domestic robot makers continues, it is anticipated that Korean robot makers’ solid capital footing will give impetus to new opportunities.

⑥ Dawn of Domestically-made Surgery Robots

▲Meerecompany's surgical robot system "Revo-i"

In August, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved Korea’s first surgical robot system, Revo-i, which was developed by meerecompany. This act ushered in the era of domestic surgical robots. Until recently, Intuitive Surgical’s da vinci monopolized the surgical robot market. With the advent of meerecompany’s surgical robot, it is anticipated that their robots will make inroads into the surgery robots market. The product licensed for use in endoscopic surgery is only the second in the world, after “da vinci.” It was developed by the American Intuitive Surgical.

A subsidiary of Korea Yakult, Curexo – surgical robot specialists, also received a domestic sales license for the new artificial joint surgery robot, “TSolution One,” signing a contract with Busan Centum Hospital for its first shipment. The new Curexo product is a fully automatic robot used for total knee and hip replacement surgeries. They became fully available in February after receiving certification for the hip joint area following certification of the knee joint area. The TSolution One is characterized by increased surgical stability and accuracy, with a well thought out design to increase the user’s (surgeon) convenience and reduce patient fatigue.

⑦Robot Industrial Technology Roadmap Announced

▲The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy presented a “Robot Industrial Technology Roadmap”

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy presented a “Robot Industrial Technology Roadmap” which outlines the key areas to foster and important challenges to focus on in the future. The new roadmap reflects changes in the robotics industry, and covers five core areas designated as manufacturing robots, logistics and agricultural robots, medical and rehabilitation robots, safety robots, and personal service robots, and basic technologies, which are robot components, software and intelligence, and standardization. The roadmap provides an overview of domestic and overseas market trends, related technology trends, challenges to meet, as well as short-term (5-year) and mid- to long-term (10/15) prospects for each sector.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups also announced a “Technology Roadmap for the Robotics Field (2017-2019),” which outlines the core technologies and future development roadmap that need to be secured by domestic robot companies for the globalization of domestic small and medium sized companies. The technology roadmap includes: ▲ Convergent Fourth Industrial Revolution following robot technology integration ▲ Improvement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the foundation of robot technology ▲ Expansion of autonomous driving technology applications ▲Discussion of major issues in the convergence of ICT technology and robotics and in the robotics field; important strategic products that Korea should focus on are domestic support robots, social robots, muscle strengthening robots for the elderly and the disabled, sports simulation robots, logistics robots, human-friendly collaborative manipulator robots, and medical/rehabilitation robots.

⑧ Motion on Basic Law on Robots

▲The lawmakers of the National Assembly Young-sun Park, enacted a motion for the “Basic Law on Robots”

The lawmakers of the National Assembly, including Young-sun Park, enacted a motion for the “Basic Law on Robots” in the form of joint initiatives, which has had an unsettling effect on the robot industry. The 38 lawmakers agreed that there was a limit to how much the current short term law, “Intelligent Robot Development and Promotion Act,” could reflect the current global trends and issues in the rapid rise of the robots industry. As a result, last July, they jointly proposed the Basic Law on Robots.

There is a pending revision bill for the amendment of the Intelligent Robot Law, which was initiated separately in April and June by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Jeong Park and Kyu-hwan Kim, a member of the Free Korean National Assembly, respectively. The current intelligent robot law is a one-time law, in essence freezing it on June 30th next year. Unless an alternative plan to the intelligent robot law is in place by the end of June next year, confusion in the robotics industry is likely.

⑨ AI Smart Speakers Heating Up

▲Kakao launched their own smart speaker “Kakao Mini.”

The market for AI (Artificial intelligence) smart speakers is also heating up. Following SK Telecom and KT, Kakao launched their own smart speaker “Kakao Mini.” The term “Smart Speakers” denotes not only the launching of AI speakers; it also refers to applying the artificial intelligence platform to a wide range of products and services. The Kakao Mini is based on Kakao's integrated artificial intelligence platform, Kakao I. Kakao has decided to provide the Kakao I platform to GS E&C and Samsung Electronics.

KT showcased their LTE-based AI speakers that can be used anywhere where LTE is available. Their speakers include the “GiGA Genie LTE,” “GiGA Genie Buddy,” and “GiGA Genie Kids Watch.” KT announced that GiGA Genie, an artificial intelligence TV launched in January of this year, also amassed 100,000 subscribers within its first five months of launch. KT is expanding its GiGA Genie application products and services to AI financial services and other services.

SK Telecom, suppliers of AI speakers NUGU is taking steps to enlarge its platform. SK revealed “T Map x NUGU,” a next-generation navigation service by loading its artificial intelligence platform NUGU onto “T Map.” SK Telecom anticipates that in the approaching era of “Connected Cars,” T-Map will (based on artificial intelligence) play a role as “my secretary” to help drivers utilize their time not only for driving but also to use their driving time more productively.

⑩ Expert Robot Companies, KOSDAQ listing

▲Roborobo to be listed on KOSDAQ

News of KOSDAQ listings of companies specializing in robots has also been loud this year. The entry of robots into the capitals market is expected to boost public confidence in the industry and give a boost to robotic companies that are suffering from capital shortages. Roborobo, an educational robot company, merged with the Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) and became the first educational robot company to be listed on KOSDAQ on the 19th of this month, in a move sure to stimulate the company’s future projects. In addition, RS Automation, a company specializing in robot motion and energy control, and Everybot, mop cleaning robot specialists for household support, were also listed on the KOSDAQ this year.

Although not listed on the KOSDAQ, Koh Young Technology was the first Korean company to be listed in the “ROBO Global Index,” a benchmark index to track the global robotics and automation market, primarily for global robot experts in the US and EU. It is generally based on this index that business executives from the US, Japan, Europe, Taiwan, and other countries plan their robot investment portfolios. As a result, this listing is expected to enhance global public confidence in Korean robotics companies.