RoboWorld 2017, where manufacturing robots, robot components, smart manufacturing, 3D printing, and service robots can be viewed in one place, will be held at KINTEX in Ilsan for four days starting September 13. Participating in the event are 230 companies from 25 countries, hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and organized by the Korea Robot Industry Association, the Korea Robot Industry Promotion Agency, and the Korea Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems.

The theme of this year's event is 'Smart Industry, Smart Life!', and it is also planned to present the direction of smart factories in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In particular, Hanwha TechWine and Doosan Robotics participated in the manufacturing robot pavilion and unveiled collaborative robots.

In addition, healthcare robot company NT Robot attracted attention by exhibiting a wearable walking robot for people with spinal cord injuries, You Friend showcased a smart cart capable of autonomous driving in indoor environments, and Timbo Robot and others displayed products related to coding education for elementary, middle, and high school students.
At the Global Robot Business Forum, robot industry professionals from Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand discussed the current status and future development directions of their respective countries.

Mitsuhide Ushio, the representative of Kawasaki Robotics Korea representing Japan, said, “The robotics sector will grow twofold, centered on manufacturing, and nearly twentyfold in non-manufacturing sectors. In other words, a robot revolution is expected not only in manufacturing but also in various other fields.” He added, “In accordance with the new robot strategy announced in 2015, Japan will become a global robot hub and lead the world in the field of IoT robots.”
Presenters from Malaysia and Thailand also introduced policy cases from their respective countries and highlighted 'SI companies' as a key area to watch.

Ishkandar Baharin, President of the Robotics & Automotive Association of Malaysia, stated that while Malaysia is geographically advantageous to become an Asian hub, the convergence and development of four types of robot infrastructure are necessary. “Although the market is growing due to active investment, cooperation is required because companies cannot focus solely on the technical aspects among robotics and automation component firms, SIs, educators, and software and service companies,” he said.

"There are currently over 300,000 factories in Thailand, but only 15% use robots," said Shit Raowatana, President of the Field Robotics Association of Thailand. He noted that there are fewer than 200 system integration (SI) companies acting as intermediaries in Thailand, and among them, fewer than 30 play a substantial role.

Association President Sheet encouraged Korean companies to enter the Thai market to meet demand, stating, “The government has plans to invest nearly 6 trillion won in equipment, processes, and SI companies for factory automation.”