Shooting for Goal! FIRA RoboWorld Cup 2006 ... - Korea IT Times

2006-06-12006.6.701:58PM페이지42001채널맥(3443-0701)
Cover Story
/ FIRA RoboWorld Cup 2006
Robot Industry
“Why robots?” The answer to this simple
question is above all because robots are
among the top-10 engineering technologies
of the future - alongside bioengineering and
nanotechnology.
Opinions do not differ about forecasts
that within 10 years, the robot industry will
become a pivotal export product to lead
Korea’s export industry - on a par with
today’s telecommunication and semiconductor
industry.
Core industries’ total production growth
rate such as semiconductors, cellular phones,
and auto manufacturing, as well as the shipbuilding
industry that led the Korean economy
over the past one decade, is expected to
fall little by little in the coming years. In
other words, robots are emerging as the most
certain alternative to provide for growth after
10 years, presuming that other next-generation
growth industries like the hybrid cars,
next-generation semiconductor & mobile
communication, & content & software are
the ones that will be able to provide for the
Korean people just for several years.
‘Why Robots?’
Continuous investment in nurturing of skilled manpower
needed by selection and specialization
Actually, according to Ministry of
Information & Communication (MIC) statistics,,
Korea’s IT exports have slackened the
30% growth in 2004 to 5% growth in 2005.
MIC is predicting that this year, the semiconductor
industry’s total production growth
rate would drop from last year’s 14.9% to
6.2% and in the case of the shipbuilding
industry as well, it would drop from 8.1% to
7.3% respectively.
With exports of $20 billion forecasted by
2013, the robot industry’s growth goal is
smaller than exports of automobiles, semiconductor,
cellular phones, and shipbuilding
at the moment.
Nevertheless, experts emphasize that
robots will change the paradigms of the
future life patterns and be the core of manufacturing,
a basic physical strength of national
competitiveness.
These experts further point out, “Today is
a point of time that associated business circles
should concentrate their efforts on manpower
nurturing and technology security
since robot technology and human power
play a role to nurture competitiveness of the
entire manufacturing industry,” adding that
robot competitiveness is equivalent to manufacturing’s
competitiveness.
Technology gap of 80% with advanced
countries
Korea’s robot industry structure is being
geared toward manufacturing-oriented
robots. Among the global sixth rank level
scale of 350 billion won (around $370 million),
roughly 300 billion won will be spent
on robots for manufacturing and robots for
education as well as robots for toys, accounting
for the majority among the rest of service
robots too.
In the case of the intelligent-model service
model, which is presumed to become
the huge market of the future, smaller companies
will manufacture the majority. Thus,
bipolarization structure is being forged as
larger companies are concentrating their
efforts on robots for electronics product
manufacturing and automobile manufacturing
whereas smaller companies are gearing
themselves for service robots.
In particular, till the end of the 1980s and
mid-1990s larger companies in Korea rushed
into the robot industry as their interest grew
in the automation industry but with the 1997
financial crisis, a raft of larger companies
withdrew from the robot business one after
another.
Accordingly, the relative importance of
imports every year since 1999 is on the
increase with a scale of exports of 60.9 billion
won (around $65 million) and imports
of 110.2 billion won (around $110 million)
as of 2003.
As to its robot technology level, Korea is
experiencing a technology gap of 80% in
comparison with advanced countries
and technology difference
of 3~5 years in the case of the
headspring technology. Korea’s
robot industry is analyzed to be
insufficient in 23 fields compared
with advanced countries
among 37 technologies and to be
on a par with them in 14 fields
alone, according to experts’ survey..
Robot system technology
competitiveness which has accumulated
with robot for industry,
and the globally highest level’s
IT as well as manufacturing technology
are pinpointed to be outstanding
points for Korea robot
industry.
Urgent manpower nurturing needed
Regarding robot’s industrialization strategy,
experts point out, “To stick to the fountainhead
technology and basic technology is
competitiveness”, explaining that to rise to
the 90~95% level of the United States or
Japan is not difficult for the Korea robot
industry and further the introduction of stateof-the-art
functions is not a problem, but to
boost precision degree or parts material level
till 98~99% is ideal.
A solution to such a problem for the
Korean robot industry is therefore summarized
to be continuous investment by selection
and concentration strategy.
Alongside of this, special human power
Students enjoying soccer robot
nurturing is judged to be an urgent task for
the Korean robot industry as domestic robotassociated
manpower is grasped to be no
more than 10% with roughly 2,000 people
level in comparison with Japan, the robot
industry No. 1 globally.
To boost robot industry manpower scale
at home, relevant experts note that industry
manpower 10,000 people should be secured
by strengthening support in university, colleges,
& robot high school, and needless to
say nurturing of high quality human
resources through university laboratory and
robot special graduates.
Accordingly, the government plans to
offer ‘Robot Specialization Courses’, which
attaches importance to experimentation
and on-the-spot
research education, to four-year
degree Master’s/Ph.D. integration
courses and MBA courses
etc. to nurture 20,000 skilled
workers for the robot industry
by 2013.
However, industry experts
insist that robot-related departments
in educational institutions
are on the increase in the meanwhile
in Korea, but since these
departments are oriented toward
scientific education mostly,
manpower production needed
for actual industry activation is
not being attained sufficiently.
‘Approaching Robot, Sharing the Future!’
“Robot World 2006,” with the slogan,
“Approaching Robot, Sharing the Future!’” is
scheduled to be held during the week of Oct.
18~ 22, 2006 in COEX, Seoul under the auspices
of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry
& Energy (MOCIE), Korea. With a view to
promoting the robot boom and preparing an
impetus to create robots as a new industry
“Robot World 2006” will feature an international
scale robot special exhibition.
MOCIE officials responsible for ‘Robot
World 2006’ said, “ Robot World 2006 is
designed to pave the way for a momentum
for Korea to develop into a hub of the robot
industry by fulfilling a robot technology hub
role to be on a par with Japan’s iREX
(international scale’s Intelligent model
robot special exhibition which is held every
two years in Japan)”.
As MOCIE advances the robot project
with a view to Korea becoming one of the
three robot powers globally in the robot
industry by 2013, the persons concerned,
including the Korea Association of Robotics,
Center for Robot Industry Promotion, The
Institute of Control, Automation & Systems
Engineers, Korea, COEX, Korea Association
of Machinery Industry, Korea Machine Tool
Manufacturer’s Association, and Korea
Advanced Intelligent Robot Association are
doing their best to ensure that the global-level
robot special exhibition may be held. It is
hoped that substantial business will result,
rather than a simple display as well as competition
rally, an official from MOCIE
involved in Robot Week’s preparation underscored.
The media reported that this show would
contribute to exchange activation between
participating companies and buyers particularly
through active matchmaking service,
adding that the Ministry is garnering all
capacities in realizing the robot industry’s
growth.
“Robot World 2006” will come to present
the vision of the fast-approaching
Robot age,” an official of the Robot World
2006 Secretariat said, referring to the fact
that this is the largest scale’s robot exhibition
at home to introduce world robot
industry trends and to acquaint the world
with Korea’s robot industry.
Broadly viewed, “Robot World 2006”
will consist of ‘iRIS 2006 (International
Robot Industry Show)’, ‘IRC 2006
((International Robot Contest 2006), and
KRC 2006 (Korea Robot Conference 2006).
First off, iRIS 2006 will be comprised of
robot pavilion for service, robot pavilion
for manufacturing, robot parts, network
robot pavilion, oversea country pavilions,
growth engine pavilion, and the future
pavilion. As a collateral event, Business
Partner Plaza is expected to provide users
with the optimal business environment
through matchmaking between exhibition
participants and buyers plus a ground for
robot demonstration event.
IRC 2006, in which 1,500 people from
856 teams will take part, will be contested
in the categories of Grand Challenge,
Robotpiad, Humanoid, Robofest,
Intelligent SoC Robot War, Robot Soccer,
and so forth.
In the case of KRC 2006, 2,400 people
from 20 countries will participate in it with
programs such as global distinguished
scholar invitation lecture, SICE-ICCAS
2006 connection screen conference, 2nd
Korea-Japan Service Robot Workshop and
International Intelligent Robot Industry
Forum.
In a nutshell, MOCIE’s “Robot World
2006” establishment is seen as an opportunity
to boost interest in robots and this
event’s status by holding in one place various
robot-associated events like robot contest
rally, exhibition, seminar, etc.
Moreover, the Ministry plans to accelerate
the robot industry’s business by providing
overseas buyers with business consultation
opportunities with domestic robot
companies.
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