Iciness Olympics, Hubo and device forward for robots in South Korea

Daejeon, South Korea – At some stage in the 2018 Iciness Olympics, South Korea deployed 85 robots of 11 diversified forms at quite a lot of areas.

From offering recordsdata in quite a lot of languages at Incheon Airport and offering water bottles in Pyeongchang on the Iciness Games to snowboarding down the slopes, South Korea’s efforts to showcase itself on the robotics map failed to slip no longer famed.

One in every of these 85 robots modified into as soon as Hubo, a humanoid created by the Korea Tremendous Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, fair over 130km from the capital Seoul.

In December 2017, Hubo grew to alter into the first robot to preserve up an Olympic flame. It walked round a hundred and fifty metres to a wall before drilling a gap into it and passing the torch onto Professor Oh Jun-Ho, its creator and the one that headed the robotics programme at Pyeongchang 2018.

South Korea produced round $Four.11bn rate of robots in 2016, a 12.9 % prolong on 2015. Domestic sales elevated from $2.93bn to $three.33bn in the same length whereas exports went up from $749m to $857m.

On a discuss over with to the robotics lab at KAIST, Al Jazeera speaks to Professor Jun-Ho about Hubo, other robots on the Iciness Olympics and what the prolonged plug holds for South Korea and its technological ambitions.

Keep in mind a 360-levels scrutinize of the Hubo Lab at KAIST

Al Jazeera: When were you asked to gather Hubo for the Iciness Games? And how advanced modified into as soon as it to divulge what they asked you to?

Oh Jun-Ho: I made my first humanoid robot in 2002, second in 2003 and zero.33 pudgy-scale human robot in 2004 which modified into as soon as called Hubo. It modified into as soon as the first human robot out of doorways Japan and no other nation had tried to originate a human robot.

Since then I were identified as father of humanoid robots in South Korea.

When the native Olympic committee began organising the torch relay events two and a half of years up to now, they asked me if it modified into as soon as that that you just would possibly per chance doubtless imagine to spend Hubo or every other robotic technology for the ceremonies. For the time being, my solution modified into as soon as no. I urged them it wasn’t that that you just would possibly per chance doubtless imagine. I didn’t desire to preserve up out it because it be too unstable.

Technology is restful far in the aid of our expectation. All the things is are living so if something goes gruesome, that is doubtless to be very catastrophic. It occurs infrequently.

Secondly, there modified into as soon as miniature time. The organisers wished to witness contemporary things that are hard to divulge. 

I refused but they saved asking as soon as more and as soon as more. A 300 and sixty five days up to now, they urged me to push apart the outlet ceremony but carry out something for the torch relay which modified into as soon as no longer are living. So I plot of it and decided to originate a contemporary robot, Hubo FX2.

It took us fair over three months from originate to completion.

The 2018 Iciness Olympics received a un-human contact when Robotic Hubo participated in Torch Relay at Kaist!!@WOlympics2018 @Olympics @iocmedia #2018winterolympics #pyeongchang2018 #robots #robothubo #torchrelay #olympics #automotivelectronics pic.twitter.com/wcuOCIpF2e

— AutomotivElectronics (@automotivelect) December 22, 2017

AJ: What other robots did you bear on the Iciness Olympics?

Jun-Ho: The government wished the Olympics to alter into a showcase of Korea’s hiya-tech advancements and demonstrations.

AI and 5G were there but that’s no longer considered and tangible. Robots are considered and tangible. However the model of robots they wished – savor ones they’ve considered in movies and exhibitions – no longer all such robots are ready to be delivered. They are only for movies or exhibitions.

One in every of the robots we outdated modified into as soon as a recordsdata robot. It labored but I’m risky how helpful it modified into as soon as as these forms of things will be performed by smartphones. There modified into as soon as rather about a debate but we decided to space them, whether or not they’re outdated grand or no longer. They witness right.

We additionally talked about safety robot but we gave up the premise because it modified into as soon as too advanced. There would possibly per chance be additionally a wall-painting robot is extra or less an inkjet printer. It goes round and paints on the partitions.

AJ: You sound disenchanted with what’s on offer licensed now. Are you optimistic referring to the prolonged plug?

Jun-Ho: I’m a truly reasonable man and I’m fair attempting at what we bear. I’m constantly dreaming referring to the prolonged plug but without profound evidence or background or foundation, that extra or less vision is no longer. It’s mere fiction.

AJ: How advanced is to compare fiction with reality?

Very advanced. Robotic is a truly helpful machine. It’s nothing too comely. There’s no particular person or personality. AI is a truly helpful clean application. It would possibly per chance’t be a particular person or personality because at the same time as you discuss about AI parts, they would possibly be able to imitate human emotion or intelligence but that would no longer mean that they are luminous.

You mission your creativeness into the machine. This machine makes maintain it be luminous.

AI can carry out completely in video games and prognosis but they plot no longer understand what a staunch sport is. What they’re doing is getting results from calculations. Humans strive to interpret the which suggests of that consequence.

In the event that they’ve miniature measurement of memory and unlimited velocity of computation, they would possibly be able to imitate very high stage of intelligence and communication. But that’s fair imitating.

They’ll interpret with the relief of words in diversified languages but they plot no longer understand, they’re fair matching from their huge database.

A robot takes section in the Ski Robotic Self-discipline at a ski resort in Hoenseong, South Korea [Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters]

AJ: So robots and AI carry out no longer presently work collectively?

Jun-Ho: A lot of of us mediate robots must bear AI but that’s no longer the case. A cell mobile telephone is no longer clean. The apps you bought are clean however the machine is barely a straightforward pc. It isn’t clean.

What we bear internal a robot is the operating plot, which suggests it has the total algorithm of working, manipulation and searching at, savor a digicam, microphone and gyroscope.

If I quiz it to head five steps in two seconds, this could. It’s ready to fair win any stream sigh which must be given by AI or operators or a cloud.

AJ: Is there a future where robots and AI will be succesful to work collectively successfully?

Jun-Ho: It isn’t uncomplicated to snarl, it depends on the stage of application. For instance, that you just would possibly per chance doubtless bear a cleansing robot to your space. That is doubtless to be a obliging, self sustaining robot because it cleans the room by entertaining round by itself.

So at the same time as you quiz me when, I would inform it be been performed. When you are speaking about very low-stage intelligence, it be already there. For instance, the clean speaker, you is doubtless to be conversing with a clean speaker. Some of us quiz if it be a robot. I plot no longer mediate it’s far.

If some AI algorithm is answering you and suggests you something, that’s AI but when the ‘s accomplished with action then it becomes a robot.

But a human robot is no longer very fair correct but. There isn’t any longer grand spend for one with the exception of for learn capabilities. It has change into a extra or less technology take a look at automobile.

AJ: The Iciness Olympics are over now. Going aid about a months, how did you is doubtless to be feeling when the torch relay, that comprises Hubo, modified into as soon as winning?

Jun-Ho: In my thoughts, it modified into as soon as winning. I modified into as soon as tickled, I modified into as soon as proud that this tournament helped snarl the mood for Pyeongchang. It modified into as soon as rather valuable in the sense that a robot modified into as soon as outdated for the first time in a torch relay and secondly, what the sector is searching at for from Korea. I modified into as soon as very proud to play a truly indispensable section in showing our space in technology.

The interview modified into as soon as edited for measurement and clarity