High hopes for Korea`s humanoid disaster robot `Hubot`

"Robot" is a new term coined in the 20th century. Czech writer Karel Capek first used it in his book "R.U.R(Rossum＇s Universal Robots)," which meant "forced labor" coming from a Slavic word "Robota." The story is about making robots in a factory that look the same as human beings. Popularity of robots taking on unpleasant tasks instead of humans surged and they ultimately challenged humans and rebelled.

"Hubot," a humanoid robot developed by a research team led by KAIST mechanical engineering professor Oh Jun-ho, was selected as the world`s best disaster robot. It won the Robotics Challenge event, known as robot Olympics hosted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under the U.S. Department of Defense. Hubot represents Korea`s pride as it beat robot powerhouses of the U.S. and Japan. Oh fist launched robot research with his students with investment of 50 million (44,539 U.S. dollars) after Japan developed in 1997 the world`s first walking robot " ASIMO." In 2004, the first Hubot model was born, which then evolved to jump by 2009 and dance hip hop by 2012.

At the Robotics Challenge event, Hubot wrote a reversal drama. A total of 24 teams including NASA from six countries competed for eight assignments at a stadium modeled after the Fukushima nuclear accident site. The first day, Hubot ranked just sixth but the next day proficiently drove a car, turned and locked the valve with its hands and jumped up the stairs. It ultimately finished No. 1 with a record of 44 minutes and 28 seconds.

In early science fiction movies, robots were described as having a metal body and a funny voice as if been altered by a voice changer device. But in reality it is different. Robots serve key roles in manufacturing, military, medical and space exploration. They are now judged as criteria for national competitiveness. In the medical sector, surgeon robots and nursing robots have been developed. Hopes are high for the world`s best humanoid Hubot to evolve further, so it can become a stout pillar when disasters like MERS develop.

mskoh119@donga.com