Established in 2003, the Intelligent Systems Research Institute (ISRI) led by Prof. Suk Han LEE have been studying various government and industrial cooperation projects including 21st century frontier intelligent robots, home service robots, autonomous individual call taxis, and MEMS/NEMS for industrial printing for the past 10 years. Now, the institute is working on core source and application technology in such areas as; surgical endoscopes for medical robots, 3D environment modelling and rover location recognition for lunar exploration rover, 3D cameras, careful inspection based on 3D image, 3D objective recognition for self-learning of robots, and deep learning based on big data and semantic inference combination, based on symbols for 3D vision. From the joint research and dual degree programs with advanced institutes such as Georgia Tech, Penn State, USC, Pascal Institute, Blaise Pascal University, and Padua University, international cooperation has also actively developed.
Due to many research activities, ISRI was able to publish 60 SCI papers, 100 academic research papers, and 60 patents. Out of the outstanding study results, we would like to introduce “HomeMate” which is a home assistant robot that was invited to the World Robots on Tour event in 2013, and a 3D camera which has achieved recognition from a patent company in the US.
HomeMate
HomeMate is a fascinating attempt to develop a home assistant/companion robot by Intelligent System Research Institute (ISRI) in SungKyumKwan University (SKKU). One of the guiding principles is the so-called «w-Cognitive Robotics for HR I (Human Robot Interaction)». The "w" stands for "will" and indicates the idea that true intelligence and believable and dependable interaction has to originate from a motivated agent.
The HomeMate is an integral part of the KORUS Tech project which is sponsored by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning of South Korea. This service robot is the result of close collaboration among various research Institutes under the supervision of Professor Sukhan Lee of the Intelligent Systems Research Institute (ISRI), SungKyunKwan University (SKKU), including companies specializing in robotics in South Korea, Yujin Robot Co. Ltd., Bonavison Inc., and universities in USA such as; Georgia Tech and Penn Sate University. The attribution of its first generation was decided through the framework DRE (Domestic Robot Ecology). Second and third generations of HomeMate succeeded at the first attempt. They finally decided to give it a harmonic look with its functionality in order to overcome the problem of the Uncanny Valley.
The System of w-cognitive Robotics
The HomeMate is equipped with a cognitive recognition system and can interact with humans through which it can search information automatically to achieve the efficiency conditions for recognition and interaction. This ability is based on a series of self-generated cognitive behaviors, which is intended for the acquisition of a very high reliability when interacting with humans, and more particularly for the care of elderly. One such breakthrough technology is the w-Cognitive Robotics for HRI (Human-Robot Interaction). The w corresponds to the first letter of the word ‘will’ to indicate the idea that the real intelligence and interaction can be born from a motivated agent. It was developed to propose a new approach with the capability of resolving certain robotic problems and guarantee the reliable performance of the services rendered by the robot. It also allows defining natural results of human robot interaction in the behavior of the robot.
A Versatile Service Robot
This is a cognitive robot that can understand and recognize its environment, therefore people can interact with it. It is able to understand the meaning of a voice order or gesture and identify the face of its caller. It has been proven that there is a possibility to call the robot by using the app in a smart-phone. You can use the touch screen, including several icons that can provide access to various common information portals online, and also some other activities such as; internet shopping, communication with other people via video, watching movies, listening to music and playing video games, etc.. The HomeMate performed a number of programmed actions and some other tasks such as fetching a beverage, orange juice, glass, cup of coffee, as well as medications and bringing them to the person in need. Different versions of robots have already been deployed in retirement homes both in South Korea and the United States to evaluate their capabilities and to test the market possibility.
High-Accuracy & High Speed Structured-Light 3D Camera
High accuracy and high speed 3D cameras based on visible and infrared structured light have been under development for real-time depth imaging of workspaces and objects. Novel HW and SW technologies have been developed for high precision yet robust depth imaging under wide variations of imaging environments. Compactness in size and high speed in imaging are being pursued by integrating embedded projectors with micro mirror arrays, higher frame rate cameras, high performance computing devices and custom designed optics. As the result, 200micron/30cm X 40cm ~ 10 micron/10cm X 10cm of depth precision, up to 1 millions 3D point clouds of density, up to 10Hz of capturing speed and up to 12cm X 10cm X 5cm of size have been achieved, representing world top class performance.
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