Lecture Summary

Success Key to Future Society:

Looking for the New Blue Ocean of Robots

Sangrok Oh, principal researcher at the Interaction and Robotics Research Center, KIST

I What is the Robot?

II The Development of Robotics and the Robot Industry

III A Hopeful Project for the Future: Robots

I What is the Robot?

When you think of robots, you may be reminded of Japanese cartoon characters like Atom and Mazinga Z. The term robot was first used in 1921 in a play written by a Czech playwriter. Robota means 'forced labor' in Czech. In 1961, the American company Unimate made the first industrial robot and since then, in a not-that-long period of 60 years, the robot industry has developed brilliantly. Robots have three distinct functions: they can sense external changes, think through computing, and move according to thought. With these three human-like functions, robots can do the same task repeatedly without rest, are more precise and faster than humans, and can learn similar tasks easily. They are also stronger than humans. So, there are innumerable cases where robots can be applied to better serve humans.

II The Development of Robotics and the Robot Industry

The first industrial robots couldn't be used in the U.S. because of opposition from labor unions. However, a Japanese company named Gawasaki bought them and since then Japan has led the robot industry with the world market share of more than 50%.

In the 1980s, the robot industry developed against the tide of rising wages. In the 1990s, there came the mature period of industrial robots and people started looking for a new market. In the 2000s, a new robot market emerged which provides intelligent services.

We can see the world of robot development with two axes: the one is behavioristic and the other intelligence. While the Japanese robot industry has an orientation toward behavioristic features like walking and moving, the U.S. and European robot industries are more concerned with intelligence.

In the U.S., DARPA, a robot development project for national defense, invented a distant surgery system for injured soldiers in the early 90s and also developed reconnaissance robots called PackBots in 1980. That technology is now being applied to individual service robots like daVinci and cleaning robots. In 2001, U.C. Berkley developed Bleex, a leg-rehabilitation robot, and in 2004, Google's unmanned car got a license after driving 320 thousand kilometers without any accidents.

Korea is participating actively in robotics, but most R & Ds are led by the government, so there is much pressure for visible and fast results, which is not a very good environment for breeding sound and substantial technology.

III A Hopeful Project for the Future: Robots

World economic analysts say that in 10 years robotics will supersede semiconductors or the automobile industry. Robotics can give birth to many derivative applications and when they are linked to medical, military, manufacturing, educational, and entertainment sectors, the impact will be magnificent.

The world economy is heading toward being a creative economy, walking out of industrial and information economies. It is time for Korea to make great use of its strength in information technology and combine many diverse technologies and wisdom to become the stronghold of this promising industry.

The eventful year has come to an end and the new year of 2013 has come to mind.

Looking back on 2012 when the Global Leaders Forum was born, I think again that there were many people who worked hard for the Global Leaders Forum from the 1st to the 9th. I would like to express my gratitude to those who gave a special lecture with all their might, to all the members who attended the forum in the early morning, to those who gave generous encouragement and support, and to those who devoted themselves to the forum event behind the scenes.

In the future, the Global Leaders Forum will predict new changes in our society and lead the era of globalization based on the belief that "a true welfare society can be built only when the dream and hope that Korea can become the center of the world come alive". We will try our best to deliver a positive message. In addition, we will do our best to create a forum for dialogue and patriotism where opinion leaders from conservatives and progressives can come together and communicate so that they can be integrated into “100% Korea”.

In the era of globalization filled with uncertainty, Korea's energy should be concentrated rather than split and consumed. If we can gather the wisdom to turn a geopolitical crisis into geopolitical fortune, we will be able to lay the groundwork for Korea to become one of the G-2.

In 2013, the first forum will be held in February. We are looking for talented people to deliver the first message of hope for the new year. We will notify you again when the date is confirmed. We would like to ask for your continued participation and support from our members, who are the most intelligent in Korea.

In the new year 2013, I hope that your families will be filled with health and happiness, and that all your wishes come true.