SK Telecom’s serving bot This photo provided by SK Telecom Co. on June 27, 2021, shows the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) powered serving bot, Servinggo, at Hotel Inter-Burgo in Daegu, 302 kilometers southeast of Seoul. SK Telecom said 10 serving bots will go into service in August at the hotel. (Yonhap)
Food delivery robot at apartment complex This photo, provided by Woowa Brothers Corp., the operator of South Korea’s biggest delivery app, Baedal Minjok, known as Baemin, shows the company’s food delivery robot Delidrive. The robot will be put into service between an apartment complex and nearby restaurants in Suwon, south of Seoul, with residents there able to order food via the app. (Yonhap)
At the Gwacheon Science Museum. In the future section. Who the f would design a robot with mammaries unless it is a sexbot? They dont nurse baby smartphones or something. All the humanoid robots here are gendered female. Yay for male gaze in a childrens museum. pic.twitter.com/K4ro0WOewH
Here is what is coming up next for the $15 minimum wage crowd, restaurant automation:
Customers wait for LG Electronics’ CLOi Chefbot to cook noodles at a VIPS restaurant in western Seoul, Nov. 22. / Courtesy of LG Electronics
The food and beverage industry here has seen an increasing use of robots to serve food and beverages and even complete basic tasks such as making noodles in less than a minute.
Industry officials said Sunday that more robots will be used in restaurants with the development of robotic technologies and soaring demand to utilize robots for routine and repetitive tasks, replacing human employees.
LG Electronics said it has deployed a robot chef called the CLOi Chefbot to a Seoul branch of VIPS restaurant in cooperation with the family restaurant chain operator CJ Foodville.
Robot landWork to build a robot land, the first of its kind in South Korea, is underway in Masan, 388 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on July 15, 2019. The robot land is scheduled to open in September. (Yonhap)
I doubt the Kim regime is too concerned about fighting animal robots:
– South Korea will rev up efforts to develop military robots mimicking animals and other creatures to better brace for evolving future battlefields, the arms procurement agency said Sunday. In its latest document that outlines blueprints for key defense technologies development, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) rolled out its plan to actively apply the so-called biomimetics to the military’s future weapons systems. If it proceeds as planned, several kinds of biobots, which replicate humans and insects, are expected to be deployed as early as 2024, DAPA said, adding that robots mimicking birds, snakes and other marine species could be part of the country’s military forces afterwards. “Biometric robots will be a game changer in future warfare, and related technologies are expected to bring about great ripple effects throughout the defense industry,” agency spokesman Park Jeong-eun said, adding that their roles will range from search and rescue operations to reconnaissance.
I have a hard time seeing these sex robots causing a decrease in sex crimes and prostitution any time soon in South Korea, but some people think they will:
The head of Harmony, a sex robot / Courtesy of Realbotix
Sex robot “brothels” have emerged as a potentially lucrative business as sex doll manufacturers offer more sophisticated, individually tailored models, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies.
With many shops that offer sex with these robots popping up in Europe and Canada, some technology pundits here are cautiously suggesting Korea may have to deal with this controversial issue in the near future.
Advocates say sex with robots can reduce the need for sex workers and help disabled people enjoy the same sexual pleasure as others do, in the privacy of their own room.
But opponents argue that sex robots cannot replace women and they will dehumanize the relationship between men and women. (…………..)
Sex robots are banned from import to Korea. Under article 234 of the customs law, goods that disrupt the constitutional order, disturb public safety and order or corrupt morals shall not be exported or imported.
However, it is possible to purchase life-size sex dolls online here. Also, sex dolls made by local firms are available on the internet. While it is illegal to import or export sex dolls, there are no laws that forbid manufacturing and selling the dolls here.
While sex robots are still legally unavailable here, experts say possibilities are open for Korea to allow “robot prostitution.”
“The positive aspect of sex robots is that they will help decrease the number of women who sell sex illegally,” said Kang Dong-woo, director at the Korean Institute for Sexual and Couple’s Health (KISCH). The KISCH is a private clinic for sex counseling in Seoul.
“It is no secret that there are many men who use prostitution services. Prostitution is available everywhere here through the internet. In such circumstances, I think chances are open for the country to introduce robot prostitution in the near future as it can reduce sex crimes and illegal prostitution,” Kang said. [Korea Times]
This photo released by the Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials on Dec. 26, 2017, shows its new commercial robot, “Amiro,” developed for operation at electronics production plants. According to the institute, located in Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul, Amiro can do packing and assembly jobs at a speed equal to that of humans. (Yonhap)
It is going to be interesting to see how useful these robots will be for travelers in such a busy airport:
The rise of robots hasn’t exactly gone smoothly, but companies are determined to get it right. Today, LG announced that it’s deploying a fleet of robots at Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea.
This isn’t the first we’ve heard of these adorable robot friends. LG announced them earlier this year, and they’ve been hanging out in the Seoul airport for the last five months as part of a beta test. During that time, LG engineers have been testing and improving their performance, while the robots presumably loitered and caused trouble. But now that they’re out of their rebellious teenage years, they’re ready to be pressed into service. This is still considered a trial — after all, LG doesn’t want the robots becoming suicidal and launching themselves into a fountain to end it all.
There are two robots that are in service: an Airport Guide Robot and an Airport Cleaning Robot. The Airport Guide Robot is in place to interact with passengers. It can understand four languages — Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese — thanks to LG’s voice recognition software. It can tell you where a restaurant is located or escort late passengers straight to their gate with a quick boarding pass scan. The Cleaning Robot is in place to make sure the airport stays tidy by monitoring the areas that need the most frequent cleaning — so in other words, you’ll probably see this little guy in the bathroom the next time you’re at the Seoul airport. [Engadget]
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn shakes hands with a robot participating in the final selection contest for Imagine Cup 2016 at a Seoul university on March 25, 2016. Imagine Cup is an annual competition sponsored and hosted by Microsoft Corp. that brings together young technologists from around the world. (Yonhap)
