한국기계연구원(원장 류석현)이 지능형 로봇산업 관련 글로벌 동향을 분석하고 미래 핵심기술인 생성형 AI(인공지능) 소개와 활성화 방안을 담은 기계기술정책 제114호 ‘지능형 로봇 및 생성형 AI 동향분석과 시사점’을 발간하고, 국가 차원의 지능형 로봇 산업활성화를 위한 지속적 투자가 필요할 것으로 전망했다.
▲Global Intelligent Robot Market (Data: Precendence Research)
Global Intelligent Robot Market to Grow at an Average Annual Rate of 12% by 2026
'Intelligent robots' are attracting attention as a future food source for the robot industry. Meanwhile, the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (President Ryu Seok-hyun) under the Ministry of Science and ICT analyzed that a key role for research and development of social intelligence of robots is necessary to revitalize Korea's intelligent robot industry.
The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials recently analyzed global trends related to the intelligent robot industry and published Machinery Technology Policy No. 114, “Intelligent Robot and Generative AI Trend Analysis and Implications,” which contains an introduction to and activation plan for generative AI (artificial intelligence), a future core technology, and predicted that continuous investment will be necessary to activate the intelligent robot industry at the national level.
As global companies rush to enter the intelligent robot market, Precendence Research, a global market research firm, forecasted that the global intelligent robot market would grow at an average annual rate of 12.3% from USD 70.8 billion in 2020 to USD 141.9 billion in 2026.
Generative AI, one type of intelligent robot technology, is a technology field that uses AI, including deep learning, to create various computer-generated content such as language and vision. It is attracting attention as a key technology that will expand the robot market in the future, including manufacturing robots, logistics robots, medical robots, and life support robots.
On the other hand, it was analyzed that the comprehensive competitiveness of our country's robot industry is lagging behind that of major countries such as the US, Japan, and China, and that our R&D capabilities are also being pursued by China.
In particular, for intelligent robots, the ranking of technology levels is as follows: the United States (100%), Europe (95.9%), Japan (95.8%), Korea (85.6%), and China (81.6%), and it was found that Korea's technology level has a technology gap of 0.9 years compared to the United States.
In order for our country to become a leader in the intelligent robot industry in the future, we need to improve the social intelligence of robots by developing: △Robot intelligence sensor solutions and products for coexistence and collaboration with people△ Research on improving robot performance and reliability for application in various fields such as manufacturing, logistics, medicine, and defense △ Technology transfer of new AI technologies from large companies to small and medium-sized companies and expansion of technological competitiveness are necessary.
We are focusing on research on advanced robot intelligence technology through the 'Research on the development of core technologies for the Robot General-purpose Task Artificial Intelligence (RoGeTA) framework for implementing various daily services' centered on the Machine Year AI Robot Research Headquarters.
Kim Chul-hoo, a senior researcher at the Machinery Technology Policy Center of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, said, “Intelligent robots are expected to be a huge market that can reorganize the global paradigm, and the era of robots where intelligent robots will become as widespread as smartphones is expected to arrive.” He added, “In addition to expanding related R&D and investment, the government’s support for global R&D cooperation to take the lead in intelligent robot technology will also be necessary.”
The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials publishes the specialized knowledge journal 'Machine Technology Policy', which analyzes trends in the machinery industry and proposes policies, more than four times a year, and performs the role of a think tank as a national research institute in the machinery field. You can apply for a regular subscription or download the Machine Technology Policy from the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials website (https://www.kimm.re.kr/).