Giant robot with human pilot takes baby steps in Korea

1.5 tonnes & four meters tall, first robot with human inside driving it to cost $8.3 million.

TECHNOLOGY 

Giant robot with human pilot takes baby steps in Korea

27/12/2016

AFP News Agency

A giant South Korean-built manned robot that walks like a human but makes the ground shake under its weight has taken its first baby steps.

The hulking human-like creation bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie "Avatar".

REALIZATION OF A KOREAN'S CHILDHOOD DREAM 

The robot is the creation of Hankook Mirae Technology, a South Korean robotics company, where about 30 engineers were hard at work conducting initial tests Tuesday afternoon.

The company's chairman Yang Jin-HoYang dreamed as a child of building his own robot.

Yang said he has invested 242 billion won ($200 million) in the project since 2014 to "bring to life what only seemed possible in movies and cartoons".

Building the giant robot was a challenge for the engineers -- most of them in their mid and late 30s -- as its unprecedented scale and size meant the engineers had nothing to refer to when designing the robot.

WORLD'S FIRST MANNED ROBOT IMITATING MOVEMENTS OF HUMAN INSIDE 

"Our robot is the world's first manned bipedal robot and is built to work in extreme hazardous areas where humans cannot go (unprotected)," said Yang.

A human pilot sitting inside the robot's torso makes limb movements which are then mimicked by the robot. 

The robot's metal arms each weigh 130 kilograms (286 pounds).

1.5 TONS & TWICE AS TALL AS A HUMAN 

The robot stands more than twice the size of a tall man.

Designed by a veteran of science fiction blockbuster movies, the four-metre-tall (13-foot), 1.5 ton Method-2 towers over a room on the outskirts of the city of Seoul in Korea.

The robot is so heavy that it shakes the ground when it takes a step with a loud whirring of motors.

TEST-BED FOR FUTURE ROBOT TECHNOLOGIES 

So far, it remains unclear how the robot will be used. 

Method-2 is seen more as a test bed for various technologies that will allow the creators to build any type and size of robot in future.

While its enormous size has grabbed media attention, the creators of Method-2 say the project's core achievement is the technology they developed and enhanced along the way.

"Everything we have been learning so far on this robot can be applied to solve real-world problems," said designer Vitaly Bulgarov on his Facebook page (see his facebook here & photos here).

He has previously worked on film series such as Transformers, Robocop and Terminator.

Yang said they have already received inquiries from industries ranging from manufacturing and construction to entertainment.

There have even been questions about its possible deployment along the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) along the border that separates South Korea from North Korea.

But the robot, tethered by a power cable and still a bit wobbly on its feet, is far from finished. 

$8.3 MILLION ROBOT STILL TAKING BABY STEPS 

More work is needed on its balance and power systems, according to its creators.

"The robot is one year old so it is taking baby steps," Yang said.

"Just like humans, it will be able to move more freely in the next couple of years."

He said the robot will be ready for sale by the end of 2017 at a price of around 10 billion won ($8.3 million).

http://www.bangkokpost.com/tech/world-updates/1169509/korean-manned-robot-takes-first-baby-steps

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