Development of curling software Curlbrain and curling robot Curl

Robots can also play curling.

The Ministry of Science and ICT held an 'AI curling robot competition demonstration' at the Korea Paralympic Committee's Icheon Training Center Curling Center.

In this demonstration, an AI curling robot and the Gangwon Province joint high school team played a match over two ends applying curling rules.

The Ministry of Science and ICT selected the Korea University Consortium as the lead organization for the development of curling robots through a public competition last year (April 2017), and in the first year, developed 'CurlBrain,' an AI curling software that creates optimal curling stone throwing strategies using AI technology, and 'Curly,' an AI curling robot.

The curling robot can recognize the game situation through a camera mounted on its head and perform the game on the ice by independently formulating a throwing strategy based on deep learning.

When the 'Skip Robot' transmits the game footage recognized through the camera, 'Curl Brain' formulates the optimal pitching strategy based on it, and the 'Pitching Robot' located on the opposite side of the arena determines ① the force required for the pitch, ② the pitching direction, and ③ the stone curl rotation. It performs the role of controlling and throwing the stone to the target point.

'Curly' is a robot combining software and hardware, and requires advanced technical capabilities as it must perform in an ice environment where ice conditions change in real time. As the AI software 'Curlybrain' and the hardware 'skip and throwing robot' are interconnected to perform the game, hardware technical support, such as throwing force and direction control, is also required.

In particular, since the ice surface changes irregularly depending on the temperature, humidity, and degree of ice preparation of the stadium, it was a major challenge to perform the game by learning about various ice conditions based on deep learning.

In his opening remarks, Yang Hwan-jeong, Head of the Information and Communication Policy Office at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, “The AI curling robot ‘Curly,’ which is being unveiled for the first time in the world, is a cutting-edge technology that integrates various disciplines such as artificial intelligence and robotics.” He emphasized, “Through this demonstration, we will contribute to raising public awareness and popularizing curling, and strive to develop core AI technologies and foster talent.”