Whoever imagined Snow White as a robot? Just a couple of weeks ago, the Nowon Culture and Arts Center in Seoul presented exactly that on their stage ?Robot Princess and the Seven Dwarfs. Playing the role of the heroine was the female robot ?veR?(Eve + Robot) in her debut performance on stage. An adventure story about an android princess created by a wicked queen who craved for ever-lasting beauty through machines, even the theme of the old fairy story was changed to something more philosophical than the original.

Created by the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) EveR had already been on stage at the National Theater of Korea to sing pansori, the traditional Korean narrative opera. KITECH plans to have her take part in other performances down the road and has scheduled her for shows in the same theater with a local orchestra in May.

Not to be outdone, the Pohang Institute of Intelligent Robotics in Gyeongsangbuk-do (North Gyeongsang Province) featured a robot puppet show ?ave the Green Wood?only a week later. Tech-tainment, as the institute calls it, shows how robot friends in the forms of a human, dinosaur, butterfly, panda and other animals get together with fellow puppets to save the wood. Science and nature can go together ?that was the underlying message.

More is yet to come. In December 2009 [u1] SBS, one of the major Korean broadcasters, announced that it will air the nation's first robot drama in the first half of 2011[u2] . The production team is currently developing the synopsis jointly with the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity and said they would like to bring the general public closer to science and elicit their support and encouragement to researchers and engineers serving in the field.

Just how far has the Korean robotics industry come? According to statistics from the Korea Association of Robot Industry for 2009, the nation has maintained a steady 10 percent growth in the robotics sector despite financial trouble around the globe. Although most of the robots in heavy demand are still largely industrial robots, keep an eye on the future because service robots are slowly expanding their scope. They are beginning to be seen around the home and in public places ready to guide visitors, put out fires, guard facilities, clean rooms and even cuddle up to humans in the form of a pet animal. 

Household robots

It is no longer rare to see commercials for domestic robots in Korea. The most well known kinds are cleaners that not only pick up dust from the floor but also take care of the walls, wiping and mopping. Some have environment sensors that can suck up pollutants in the air. This is a welcome touch in seasons like spring for people allergic to flower pollen or suffering from yellow dust.

Other sensors help robots to move around from one corner to the other, enabling them to clean the entire floor area. These robot cleaners don't damage furniture thanks to bumpers that lesson the impact and built-in cameras that detect impending collisions.

? can just turn on the robot cleaner when I go out. When I return, the floor is all clean,?one housewife said in her review for one of the locally made robot cleaners.

They tend to be small and low in height so they can go anywhere, including beneath sofas and tables. Some are very quiet during their work, allowing owners to watch television or listen to music. The only obstacle so far is the price, which is far more expensive than an average vacuum cleaner.

Then there's the robot dog ?enibo?by DasaRobot Co., that expresses various responses according to how it is touched. This robotic pet is looking to advance into the French market after its manufacturer signed an MOU with a robot company in France. The pet dog will become an accessory for online games.

Face the front of the class

Going beyond e-learning, it's r-learning for the coming generations. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy has been making efforts to apply robots to the area of classroom teaching, and those efforts are in the process of realization.

Recently, two types of robots sent to teach English in three schools in Masan and Daejeon for a test-run. One type is called a voluntary-type robot that can move around, identify students' faces and exchange a few English dialogues according to the situation.

Another is a tele-presence style robot remote-controlled by a native English teacher via the Internet. The teacher must prepare the robot before letting it go to the classroom. The teacher can then run the class watching students through the loaded camera on board the robot. The robot trial lessons went on for eight weeks.

Meanwhile, animal robots and mobile robots were presented to 10 elementary schools in Seoul in the form of kits that needed to be assembled. They were used to run classes like mathematics, science and art for five weeks.

According to the findings of Chungnam National University and Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, there was a considerable improvement in children's reading, listening and talking skills. The robot class also contributed to spark interest and self-confidence in class. The results further revealed that students much preferred the tele-presence robot instead of a voluntary robot. The schools that used robot kits also had their scores for attention span go up from 122.31 to 132.93 points and scores for class attitude from 67.19 to 71.46 points[u4] .

To establish a full-fledged robot education, the ministry plans to set up a task committee and inject 10 billion won of budget to supply robots to some 500 kindergartens this year. Another 40 and 50 billion won will be invested in 2011 and 2012, respectively, so that by the second year a total of 8,000 kindergartens will be benefiting from r-learning.

The government will also look for ways to export its r-learning content abroad. The early robots are to assist teachers through small tasks like confirming absences, sending text messages and offering health checks, among other things.

Doctor, it hurts here

Hospitals equipped with high-tech robotic systems are not only benefitting local patients but leading the way for medical tourism in Korea. The International Health Care Center at Yonsei Severance Hospital in Seoul has been attracting wealthy patients from China, Russia and Arab countries ever since it introduced surgical robots named ?a Vinci?in 2007.

The hospital had performed over 3,200 successful operations by late 2009, with over 1,000 cases being thyroid cancer. It's the highest number of operations performed by robot surgery in the world so far. Da Vinci is also being used at many other hospitals nationwide, including Kyungpook National University Hospital, which has recently reported over 300 successful urinary, gynecological and cardiothoracic surgeries, among others.

An even more exciting development is Robodoc (Robot + doctor), a robot that performs surgery automatically through prior programming by a doctor. Lauded for its high accuracy with almost no error in surgeries performed, it has been bought by five local hospitals and now boasts over 5,000 cases of successful operations. The Gimhae Joongang Hospital, for one, announced it had 10 successful surgeries since introducing the robot last month. ? felt there was a limit to surgery using computer navigation. With Robodoc we can perform artificial joint surgery almost flawlessly,?said Kim Sang-chae, head of Gimhae Joongang Hospital .

Robodoc was first developed by U.S. company ISS co., The company was later acquired by a Korean company Curexo and under its lead, won the approval of the Korean Food and Drug Administration in 2002. In 2008 Robodoc also won U.S. FDA approval in 2008, widening the doorway for exports.

P&S Mechanics have developed Walkbot. It uses artificial joints to help patients who are immobile to walk. With Walkbot, these people can exercise more without extra help from a physiotherapist. The company worked with Yonsei University's Department of Physiotherapy, Ewha Womans University's Mokdong Hospital and Soongsil University's Mechanical Engineering Department for the past three years for this breakthrough. The company is currently going through the final checkups and screening process by the FDA. Patients who have suffered a stroke, have spinal pain, are paralyzed or are suffering from other disorders that prevent them from walking are likely to benefit from Walkbot in the future.

Robot industry to be given a further boost

Robot-related events and exhibitions have also increased in size and number over the past few years. The latest robots will be displayed in annual robot fairs like Automation World, Robot Fairs, Robot Dancing Event and more across the nation.

Cities like Incheon and Masan have recently opened their own Robotlands as a new source of entertainment and the city of Daegu celebrated its designation as a new capital of robot industry, having won the right to establish the Korea Robot Industry Promotion Institute.

Korea's history of service robots dates back to around 2005 with the development of its first humanoid ?ubo?by KAIST. KITECH caught up, with the development of its EveR-1 robot later. There are 120 robot companies in the nation so far, with another 81 preparing to launch in the near future. With conglomerates moving into the robot market these days, it can be safe to say the growth trend of service robots will only expand.

By Kim Hee-sung
Korea.net Staff Writer

SOURCE : Korea.net