The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM, President Park Sang-jin), under the Ministry of Science and ICT, is taking the lead in developing warm robot technology for a future where humans and robots coexist.

On the 15th, the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials announced the establishment of the Innovation Robot Center (Director Park Chan-hoon) for the development of next-generation robot technology, along with the latest research achievements including robotic prosthetic legs and arms, clothing-type wearable robots, humanoid hands and universal grippers, and autonomous unmanned tractors.

The Innovation Robot Center, established last April, houses a high-level research team and research results covering diverse fields ranging from robot components to collaborative robots, robot intelligence, logistics robots, robots for the disabled, medical robots, and field robots, all within a single think tank, providing a foundation for the organic convergence of developed technologies.

Through this, it plays a role in consolidating research and development capabilities and establishing systematic technology development strategies and roadmaps to secure future core robot technologies needed at the national level, including robot technologies for the socially vulnerable, robot technologies for a non-face-to-face and aging society, and robot technologies for reshoring.

Park Chan-hoon, Head of the Innovation Robot Center, said, “To make a future where humans and robots coexist a reality, individual element technologies from the R&D planning stage "We will establish a system capable of organic convergence and producing results," he said, adding, "We will broaden the scope of research cooperation, solidify the foundation for practical application, and take the lead in realizing a future robot society."

In its robot technology research and development, the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) places emphasis on technologies that can realize social value, such as robot technology for the disabled, robot technology for responding to infectious diseases, and robot technology for the elderly or high-intensity workers.

After successfully developing an ankle-type smart robotic prosthetic leg for the first time in 2017, we further developed it and succeeded in developing a knee-type robotic prosthetic leg prototype for people with disabilities who have had their upper knee amputated in 2021.

In addition, follow-up research and development has been launched for the commercialization of contactless sample collection robot technology. This sample collection robot technology, which garnered significant attention last year amidst the spread of COVID-19 as a technology capable of greatly reducing the risk of infection for medical personnel, has now been transferred to a domestic company.

In addition, we have developed a wearable robot 'muscle fabric' for the elderly and high-intensity workers, whose numbers are increasing in the aging society, and are preparing follow-up research to develop muscle-assist wearable robots, rehabilitation devices, and healthcare devices that can be distributed to the public at an affordable price.

In addition, with the spread of non-face-to-face and contactless culture, research and development is also being pursued to realize robot technology capable of providing various services without human contact.

In addition to indoor mobile robot technology, autonomous agricultural tractor technology has also been developed to address the issues of population decline, aging, and decreased productivity in the agricultural sector. LS Mtron, having received the technology, plans to utilize it for the future development of autonomous medium-to-large tractors and smart farm service technologies.

Through the organic convergence of these secured unit source technologies, the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) is accelerating efforts to establish a research platform for acquiring national source technologies essential for the future robot society, while also expanding the foundation for practical application.

Park Sang-jin, President of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM), stated, “KIMM’s direction for robot technology development is significantly differentiated by its focus on developing ‘warm’ robot technology for a future where humans and robots coexist.” He added, “We will further strengthen this research direction to take the lead as a government-funded research institute in realizing social values and developing robot technologies necessary for a future society facing challenges such as an aging population and non-face-to-face interactions.”