Joint research by colleges, companies, hospitals and research centers, developing wearable robots for the disabled
Department of Robotics and Intelligent Machine Engineering Professor Choi Jung-soo’s achievements in robot motion creation and control technology research
Robotics performance evaluation center for verifying robot safety and performance constructed at YU
[June 25, 2019]
<Department of Robotics and Intelligent Machine Engineering Professor Choi Jung-soo (right) and Cybathalon athlete Kim Byeong-wook demonstrate the wearable robot ‘WalkON Suit’>
Will the Korean ‘Iron Man’ robot technologies allow a paralyzed person walk?
This dream that was only seen in movies may become reality in the near future. Wearable robot technologies that apply advanced technologies have now become part of our everyday life.
A consortium was made to develop and commercialize the wearable robot for people with disabilities called the ‘WalkON Suit’ with the support of the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. This consortium is headed by Angel Robotics and comprised of the best experts in the industry, academic, research and disease sectors such as YU, KAIST, Severance Rehabilitation Hospital, Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service Rehabilitative Research Center, National Traffic Rehabilitation Hospital, Korea Testing Laboratory, Sunmoon University, and S Talks.
<Department of Robotics and Intelligent Machine Engineering Professor Choi Jung-soo inspects the wearable robot ‘WalkON Suit’>
Department of Robotics and Intelligent Machine Engineering Professor Choi Jung-soo (32) has been leading the development of software for robot movement, which is the core technology of wearable robots, together with KAIST. Actual movement by a disabled person using robots can only be made with complex movements such as straight, current and rugged area walking while wearing the robot, going up hills and stairs, and passing doors. Professor Choi is engaged in research to develop various motion generation algorithms and precision control technologies and applying them in robots to configure these precise movements.
Professor Choi said, “The primary goal of our research is to let people with paraplegia to wear the robots and engage in everyday life. We aiming to contribute to the commercialization of wearable robots for the disabled within three years.” He added, “Wearable robots are being spread throughout the world quickly for use not only by people with disabilities, but also for general and industrial sectors including the military, police and firefighting sectors. We are now a ta juncture to strategically respond and perform preemptive development to lead the technologies and the global market.
Technological development and social and institutional support are crucial for the commercialization of wearable robots for the disabled. That is why the research team is so interested on coming up with various institutional support plans such as insurance coverage and purchase subsidies. This applies also for the standardized verification system of the wearable robot industry. Japan has enacted JIS standards as the standards for industrial-use wearable robots and while medical-use wearable robots can follow the FDA or domestic medical instrument certification procedures, there are no standards specialized only for wearable robots in Korea.
YU has stepped up in this sector to construct an exclusive performance evaluation center inside the campus to verify the safety and performance of wearable robots, and it is planning to conduct research starting from the evaluation of safety and performance of wearable robots in the medical rehabilitation, industrial, and other daily life sector.
The ‘WalkON Suit’, a wearable robot for people with disabilities that YU joined in development for, will take part in the 2nd Cybathlon tournament that will be held next year in Switzerland. Cybathlon is a compound word made up of the word ‘cyborg’ that refers to a cyber-human and the Latin word ‘athlon’ that means game. This is the first robot-disabled convergence international Olympics held in the world. The tournament is held on six areas such as brain-machine interface, prosthetic legs, and electric wheelchairs. The WalkON Suit will compete in the wearable robot sector. Professor Choi participated as a member of the KAIST Professor Gong Gyeong-cheol team at the 1st Cybathlon held in Switzerland in 2016, placing third place and thus being recognized worldwide research capacities in the wearable robot sector.
Professor Choi majored in mechanical engineering and earned his PhD at Sogang University and was appointed as an assistant professor at the YU Department of Robotics and Intelligent Machine Engineering this year. Professor Choi was recognized for not only his research in wearable robots, but also the four-legged high-speed moving robot ‘Cheetaroid’ and he is a young scientist leading Korean robotics research by having the patent (multi-legged moving robot) that Professor Choi was an inventor for being selected for the Presidential Award in the 2017 Korean Invention Patent Exhibition. He also received a young scientist award at the regular academic conference of the Institute of Control, Robotics and System.
Professor Choi stated, “I want to develop wearable robots that can be used by people with paraplegia in everyday life in order to contribute to improving the quality of life for the socially vulnerable.” He added, “I will continue to engage in collaborative research with various industrial, academic, research and disease-related institutes to develop practical wearable robots that can help even people with serious paralysis.”
