Korean Running Robot Stays Connected

By Kim Tae-gyu

South Korea has developed a robot that is capable of running. The feat is the second in the world after Japan and was accomplished by a local venture start-up working on a small budget.

Robotis Thursday took the wraps off the network-based humanoid, tentatively named RX, which can run roughly 500 meters an hour empowered by outsourced software.

``This robot is built up with modulated blocks, which means it can be transformed easily to other types because it is made like Lego building blocks,’’ Robotis chief executive Kim Byoung-soo said.

``Another strength is that this 60-centimeter-tall machine works via software upgraded from outside network, the features our Japanese rivals do not have,’’ Kim said.

Robotis also channeled some $1 million to complete the running robot RX in a year through a joint project with Samsung Electronics, sponsored by the Ministry of Information and Communication.

``Japanese robots are all-in-one models outfitted with all software for sensing and processing capabilities. But our robots are designed to download programs for such features from outside servers with casual updates,’’ Oh Sang-rok, projector manager at the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the MIC plans to commercially launch several types of network robots priced between $1,000 and $2,000 late this year under business alliance with private makers.

The Korea Times : Korea Develops Running Robot