[Original Article] 로보티즈, 기술과 시장 본질을 읽어 사회 혁신 주도한다

ROBOTIS, a specialized robotics company, has contributed to the development of the Korean robot industry for the past 20 years through innovative robot technologies such as DYNAMIXEL, ROS, and autonomous mobile robots (AMR). DYNAMIXEL-Y, scheduled to be released in December of this year, is expected to be actively utilized in the future as it provides customized solutions for customer environments with modular actuators. In addition, the GAEMI AMR platform supports a variety of operational areas, including indoors and outdoors, hotels, office areas, and parks. ROBOTIS plans to continue social innovation with their developing robot technology.

 

(From left) ROBOTIS Mobile Robot Division Director Lee Seon-yeong, Public Relations Team Professional Lee Seung-hyun / Photo. Robot Technology

 

The Analects of Confucius talk about the nine thoughts (九思, the nine thoughts of a gentleman). The most important of these are the ability to see and hear the essence of an object correctly, that is, to understand the complete scope of something. This is also considered an essential quality in business management. By correctly seeing through the essence of the market in which he is doing business, an entrepreneur can identify the problems that consumers face and sublimate them into business items.

Founded in 1999, ROBOTIS has been solving chronic problems that the Korean robot market has been experiencing for over 20 years. This is especially true for ROBOTIS’ main product, DYNAMIXEL smart servos. This product is a modular actuator that integrates a motor, reducer, controller, and communication unit, providing a more efficient robot research environment for robot developers who have spent a lot of time on robot drive devices.

The ROS (Robot Operating System) technology that ROBOTIS has invested heavily in has also created a safer, more planned, and more expandable programming environment for many domestic robot research labs. In a similar vein, if we consider the no-code and low-code tools that have recently expanded the coding field to the general public, we can guess how much ROS is contributing to robot software development.

 

 

Photo. ROBOTIS

 

Investing in future value to pioneer the market
ROBOTIS has demonstrated incredible corporate capabilities in the Korean robot market for a long time, going beyond simply presenting innovative technologies to changing the market environment itself. This is due to the experienced experience of Robotis CEO Kim Byeong-su, who has devoted his life to the robot industry. He majored in electrical engineering at Korea University and intelligent robots at Hanyang University, and has swept awards in global robot competitions such as the 'Micro Mouse Competition' and the 'Robot World Cup Soccer Competition'.

Having won several competitions with robots he developed himself, he knew better than anyone else the hardships of robot developers. As such, ROBOTIS focused on educational robots and smart toys, which were unfamiliar to the Korean robot market at the time, from the beginning. This shows CEO Kim’s will to invest in future values ​​that can change the market environment beyond short-term profits.

The numerous educational robots developed by ROBOTIS have not only had a great impact on the domestic robot education field, but have also achieved significant results in overseas robot powerhouses such as the United States and Japan. For example, ROBOTIS' 'Turtlebot3' is an open-source robot that is recognized as an official platform for ROS education. In addition, many universities are utilizing the company's open-source manipulator for education, and ROBOTIS has left many footprints in the field of robot education by developing an open-source humanoid platform.

 

Diversified DYNAMIXEL
ROBOTIS has been developing drive devices, which can be said to be the original technology of robot hardware, since the beginning of its business. In the case of the Dynamixel mentioned above, it is an all-in-one concept modular actuator, and there are various lineups such as the 'DYNAMIXEL-X' and the 'DYNAMIXEL-P' which features a high torque cycloidal gear reducer, so customization to suit the user environment is possible.

 

 

ROBOTIS has secured top-level robot source technology by developing DYNAMIXEL since the beginning of its business / Photo. Robot technology

Another major feature is that ROBOTIS simultaneously introduced manipulators utilizing the new DYNAMIXELs along with the product. For example, in the case of the DYNAMIXEL-X, the 'Open Manipulator-X' utilizing it was released. Unlike conventional industrial manipulators that are specialized for manufacturing environments and only used in the manufacturing process, these products satisfy all the conditions required for a research platform that requires user customization, and are being utilized by many global organizations and companies such as KAIST, Korea's leading universities, as well as Harvard, MIT, NASA, Disney, and Ford in the United States.

 

 

Photo. Robotics

 

Opening the era of customized robots with modular customization
At '2024 Roboworld' held at the end of October this year, ROBOTIS unveiled the new DYNAMIXEL lineup, 'DYNAMIXEL-Y', along with the customized collaborative robot 'Open Manipulator-Y'.

 

 

ROBOTIS' 'Open Manipulator-Y' product lineup / Photo presented at '2024 RoboWorld' held last October. Robotics Technology

DYNAMIXEL-Y shows a big difference from previous products in that in addition to the integrated product, it provides various options such as motor version, brake version, and reducer version according to customer needs.

Regarding this, Jin-Taek Joo, Director of ROBOTIS Dynamixel Business Division, explained, “DYNAMIXEL offers high versatility and easy control, so there have been constant requests for linkage with third-party products, such as linear stages and servo cylinders.” He added, “In response to these requests, we have expanded customer choices by launching DYNAMIXEL-Y, which allows users to select the product that best suits their situation, just like selecting car options.”

Meanwhile, the Open Manipulator-Y also allows customization to meet customer needs by manufacturing individual axes in a modular form. Regarding the product, Director Jin-Taek Joo said, “In the rapidly growing F&B (food and beverage) market, differentiated solutions such as 4-5 axis robots are being demanded instead of the general 6-axis robots. In line with this trend, we have introduced a customized collaborative robot that can be customized in various environments.” The product is scheduled to be officially released in the first half of 2025.

 

ROBOTIS, which possesses top-level technology in the fields of actuators and manipulators, is perhaps more familiar to the public with its autonomous driving robot (AMR) 'GAEMI'. Listed on KOSDAQ in 2018, the company has since entered the service AMR
field in earnest and launched GAEMI. This product has both indoor and outdoor lineups, and is currently being deployed in a wide range of environments, including large hotels, airports, office areas, urban parks, and campgrounds.

 

 

Indoor GAEMI on display at '2024 Roboworld' / Photo. Robotics

In the case of indoor GAEMI, a major feature can be mentioned as the manipulator mounted on the robot. Most indoor AMRs operate by linking the robot system to interact with the building infrastructure where the robot is operated, but ROBOTIS, which has its own manipulator technology, utilizes a physical method using the manipulator mounted on the device.

Regarding this, Lee Seon-yeong, director of ROBOTIS’ mobile robot division, said, “In the case of the system linkage method, a considerable amount of time and cost is incurred in the introduction process, but if a manipulator is utilized, the robot installation cost can be reduced.” He added, “The arm currently mounted on the robot is mainly for interaction through physical manipulation (elevator buttons, etc.) like a human hand. However, we are also considering a plan to increase the payload in the future and utilize it for picking up objects.”

 

 

ROBOTIS Outdoor GAEMI. The ant has been recognized for its performance in various places such as urban parks, apartment complexes, office areas, and campgrounds, such as Paris Park in Yangcheon-gu. / Photo. Robotics

The outdoor GAEMI detects the surrounding environment and obstacles through deep learning AI-based vision and operates autonomously. The product is equipped with an automatic return and charging system, allowing it to perform tasks without time constraints.

Director Lee Seon-yeong said, “The most important technology for outdoor autonomous driving is the completion of a control system that enables driving in irregular environments,” and explained, “The product is currently being utilized in cooperation with various organizations and companies, including Yangcheon-gu, and the response from new deployment locations is also very good.”

Meanwhile, ROBOTIS signed a business agreement (MoU) with Kakao Mobility last October. Kakao Mobility is planning to develop an AMR-based dispatch algorithm and a new service model based on its own robot open API platform, Bring-On.

Regarding this agreement, Director Lee Seon-yeong said, “We are currently in the discussion stage on where GAEMI will be deployed,” adding, “Our robots and control technology will be utilized for real-time robot monitoring, etc.”

 

 

A view of the ROBOTIS building located in Gangseo-gu, Seoul / Photo. Robotics Technology

 

ROBOTIS, which has established itself as a multi-faceted company,
is currently developing its business in all areas of the robot industry, and its future prospects are also encouraging. Since the ‘Revised Intelligent Robot Act’ went into effect in November of last year, the government’s AMR regulations are expected to be further relaxed, and as universities and research institutes recognize robotics as a future-based technology, the use of open manipulators is also expected to expand in the future. In addition, the company’s Dynamixel sales are also increasing due to the continuous advancement of AI.

“Many people know our core business as autonomous driving. Of course, that field has a large share, but this was possible because we possess actuator technology, which is the basic element of robots,” said Seunghyun Lee, a professional from the ROBOTIS PR team. “In the future, we will achieve social innovation through robots by developing products that can be operated more efficiently in various environments using core technologies such as customized collaborative robots.”