Hubo’s father, Oh Joon-ho, professor at KAIST, poses with Hubo while interviewing the JoongAng Ilbo. The left was KHR-2 in 2003, and the right was Albert Huboda, which was first unveiled at APEC held in Busan in 2005 and became a global hot topic. Freelancer Seongtae Kim
‘Hubo’s Dad’ prepares to transform into the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of a robot company listed on the KOSDAQ. Oh Jun-ho (66), a KAIST professor who created the humanoid robot Hubo in 2002, the first in Korea and after Honda Ashimo in the world. ‘Rainbow Robotics’, founded by Professor Oh eight years ago, passed a preliminary examination by the Financial Supervisory Service for listing on the KOSDAQ last month. According to the current procedure, it is expected to be listed in late January next year. Professor Oh retired from his current position as a professor at KAIST in February. Now, he is a kind of contract position as a seat professor.
K-robot symbol’Hubo Dad’ Professor Junho Oh, KAIST
I dream of managing a KOSDAQ listed company in January next year
Professor Oh’s’son’ Hubo appeared in the world in 2002 under the name’KHR-1′. As the years passed, Hubo evolved into Einstein’s face and into another form. He also won the World Robot Challenge. However, few people know what happened to Hubo and how far Korean robots are evolving. On the 18th, a few days after the news that Hyundai Motor Company will acquire Boston Dynamics, the world’s best robot company, visited the Hubo Lab at the KAIST main school in Daejeon. He was still surrounded by various robots and doing research.
Professor Oh Jun-ho is explaining the hydraulic four-legged walking robot being developed. Freelancer Seongtae Kim
- -You have retired.
- “I officially retired last February. However, since March, I have been serving as a seat professor in the form of a three-year contract. Although I stopped teaching students, I am researching and developing various technologies to advance robot functions as a project of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. When moving, the robot uses a hydraulic pump rather than an electric motor. Boston Dynamics’ robot that runs and rolls and performs various tricks is hydraulic. The advantage of the fused type is that it can produce a large output. It is also the most suitable technique for simulating human muscles. ”
- -Hubo was once a humanoid robot that the world was paying attention to. What progress has you made? If you look at YouTube, the speed of evolution of Boston Dynamics robots is amazing.
- “The research continues. In 2015, DRC-Hubo beat all Boston Dynamics robots and won the Robot Challenge hosted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under the US Department of Defense. However, it is true that the technology gap between Boston Dynamics and the current Boston Dynamics is unspeakable. It is a heavy duty to compete with global robot companies with master’s and doctoral students. There is a side that it is difficult to keep up with the pace of private companies where professionals are gathered. ”
Professor Oh Joon-ho explains a human robot that moves hydraulically like an Atlas robot from Boston Dynamics. Freelancer Seongtae Kim
- -What will happen to Hubo and Hubo Lab in the future? Wasn’t it a humanoid robot representing Korea and KAIST?
- “Hubo Lab (official name Humanoid Robot Research Institute) is still continued by junior professors. In March last year, Dr. Hye-won Park, who was researching the four-legged walking robot cheetah in the United States, was appointed as a professor at KAIST, and is currently the head of the research institute. In March this year, Dr. Hwang Bo Jemin, who studied robotic artificial intelligence at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, also joined Hubo Lab. Hubo Lab’s robot research will continue to evolve. The supervisors also inherited these two professors. Hubo Lab currently has 10 Ph.D. and Master’s students each.”
- “As a professor, I am not only active in R&D, but also as CTO of Rainbow Robotics, which was founded as a teacher in 2012. A total of 45 employees, including 4 from Dr. Hubo Lab, are working. Until now, it has been producing not only collaborative robots, humanoid robots, and quadruped robots, commonly referred to as robot arms, but also astronomical telescope parts. Although it has yet to escape the deficit, sales are expected to reach 5 billion won this year. Right now, we are focusing on collaborative robots to make a profit, but we plan to grow it into a native robot company equivalent to Boston Dynamics. To this end, it is also planning to increase the size of the company. In November, it passed the preliminary examination for listing on the KOSDAQ by the Financial Supervisory Service. It will become a listed company around January 20th next year. ”
Professor Oh Junho is interviewing the JoongAng Ilbo at the astronomical observatory installed on the roof of the company’s Rainbow Robotics building, located next to the Daejeon KAIST Munji campus. The annex observation is Professor Oh’s hobby, but work has evolved into a hobby. Rainbow Robotics also produces astronomical telescope accessories. Freelancer Seongtae Kim
- -Boston Dynamics still seems to be taking time to make money. I came to Hyundai Motor Company through Google and Softbank, but what is the future of robots that you think?
- “Actually, humanoid robots are still fantasy. It’s far from commercial. It has limited use in space exploration and disaster sites. However, there is a big aspect that shows the symbol of technology. It is also my concern that has developed Hubo. There are four main areas for robots that people expect. ▶ Industrial robots or collaborative robots such as automobile factories ▶ Robots that substitute for simple labor or dangerous movements such as courier delivery ▶ Social robots such as robot cleaners and peppers ▶ Professional robots used for surgery or weapons I need it all, but I’m not really interested in social robots.”
Daejeon = Joonho Choi, Scientific and Future Reporter [email protected]