The Seoul Economic Promotion Agency (SBA, CEO Kim Hyun-woo) concluded the Seoul AI Robot Show Robot Expert Forum held at COEX Hall E on Wednesday, October 1st. Under the theme "Seoul: A Step Forward as a Robot-Friendly City," the forum brought together world-renowned robotics scholars and industry leaders to discuss the present and future of robotics technology.
This forum was attended by leading domestic and international experts in robotics, including Professor Dennis Hong of UCLA, Professor Kim Sang-bae of MIT, Professor Gong Kyung-chul of KAIST and Chairman of Angel Robotics, Director Kim Ik-jae of KIST AI and Robotics Research Institute, and Executive Director Choi Ri-gun of Hyundai Motor Group's Robotics Lab. Approximately 250 robotics industry professionals and citizens attended the forum, filling the hall with enthusiasm for the robotics industry.
Professor Gong Kyung-chul, the forum keynote speaker, spoke on the topic of “Possibilities and Challenges of Seoul, the Robot City,” and emphasized, “There are elemental technologies that integrate robots, and in order for robots to be completed as end products, numerous technologies, technology groups, and various companies, including startups, must work together.” He added, “The era of simultaneous startup development has already passed, and there are already places that are sufficiently internationally competitive, but we need to separate them and pay more attention to the first-place gap.”
Next, Choi Ri-gun, Executive Director of Hyundai Motor Company's Robotics Lab, presented under the theme of "Space, People, and Robotics." He proposed a plan to transform urban spaces and living environments by applying accumulated experience in automotive and mobility technologies to robotics. He predicted, "Cities will no longer be car-centric spaces, but will evolve into complex ecosystems where people and robots coexist."
Professor Dennis Hong, who gave the following lecture, introduced the research results of humanoid robots that are receiving worldwide attention, and announced that “humanoid robots will go beyond simple technology demonstrations and become the main players in urban services that directly interact with citizens.”
The final special lecturer, Professor Kim Sang-bae of MIT, emphasized the importance of action data in "physical intelligence." He pointed out that current AI leaders like Nvidia, Google, and Meta are developing AI solely with high-level data (conscious data) like language. He emphasized that "to conquer physical intelligence, we need an action language (in the unconscious realm) that doesn't exist on the internet."
The panel discussion that followed discussed ways to reorganize the robotics industry ecosystem amid the recent surge in medical school enrollment. Professor Gong Kyung-chul stated, "It's important to accept the current situation and find what we can do within the given circumstances." He proposed, "We can leverage the existing medical infrastructure for R&D and apply it to rehabilitation and assistive robotics." Executive Director Choi Ri-gun emphasized, "We need a science-centered ecosystem. We need to instill the idea that by studying hard in science, we can proactively make decisions and lead society."
Lastly, Professor Sang-Bae Kim, who gave a special lecture on the topic of “The Development Potential of Seoul as a Robot-Friendly City,” said, “If we integrate robotics technology with cultural elements such as K-POP and K-FOOD, which are already world-class, I expect that we will be able to sufficiently achieve global competitiveness.” Professor Gyeong-Cheol Gong said, “Seoul will be able to develop its own robotics brand depending on how well it integrates robotics technology with its well-established medical infrastructure.”
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