Nauro Robotics Signs Industry-Academia Partnership with DGIST Professor Sehoon Oh for Industrial Humanoid Robot Development

From the left, Sehoon Oh, Professor at DGIST, Jongju Lee, CEO of Nauro Robotics. Nauro Robotics

KOSDAQ-listed robotics specialist Nauro Robotics (CEO Jongju Lee) announced on August 11 that it has signed an industry-academia cooperation agreement with Sehoon Oh, Professor at the Department of Robotics Engineering at DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology) and the company’s Chief Technology Officer (registered director), to jointly develop high-speed and high-precision industrial humanoid robots that can be practically applied in industrial settings. The two parties have officially launched full-scale joint development efforts.

The two sides have formalized a joint research project with the goal of developing core technologies and completing a prototype by 2026. The project aims to develop a high-speed, high-precision humanoid capable of performing precision tasks. Its core elements include a modular structure design that optimizes output and stiffness for each joint, and a position-force hybrid control strategy to handle a variety of work scenarios. In addition, a dynamic adaptive control algorithm will be applied to reflect real-time changes in system characteristics according to stiffness adjustments, thereby creating a next-generation robot platform that overcomes the limitations of conventional fixed-stiffness approaches.

Globally, humanoid robot technology has so far focused on achieving human-like movement, such as increasing degrees of freedom, maintaining balance, and enabling walking. While these technologies have excelled in demonstrations and research, there have been almost no cases of practical use in industrial sites, where robots must rapidly and accurately repeat predefined processes. This project distinguishes itself by targeting the development of industrial humanoids that simultaneously deliver speed, precision, repeatability, and robustness.

Nauro Robotics is also preparing a roadmap to expand into autonomous mobile industrial humanoids by integrating the technologies developed in this project with its proprietary autonomous mobile platform (NUGO series), enabling robots to move and perform complex tasks simultaneously.

CEO Jongju Lee stated, "Whereas conventional humanoid research and development has mainly focused on walking and balance, our goal is to create a high-speed, high-precision industrial humanoid capable of performing fast and precise operations in real industrial environments. This project, which combines DGIST's precision control technology with Nauro Robotics’ industrial platform expertise, represents a new attempt that considers both technical feasibility and commercialization."

Recently, the global robotics industry has seen rapidly growing expectations for robots that can flexibly perform complex tasks like humans, driven by advances in manufacturing automation, labor shortages, and increased demand for flexible production. Industrial humanoids are attracting attention as the ultimate form to overcome the limitations of conventional fixed robots and to implement human-like work structures. Through this agreement, Nauro Robotics is expected to secure both technological leadership and future growth potential in the humanoid field as a company with integrated expertise in industrial robots, mobile platforms, and control technologies.

DGIST and Nauro Robotics plan to complete core technology development and prototype production by 2026, followed by industrial site-based demonstrations and an Early Partner testing program, leading to step-by-step commercialization. This collaboration is described as a strategic project that fuses Nauro Robotics’ expertise in robot design, control, reducer, and platform technologies. It is expected to be not only a significant turning point for securing the company's future growth engines but also an important milestone in the practical realization of industrial humanoids.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.