Building better robots by studying humans
Building better robots by studying humans
NAVER LABS I Tech I Park Kyung-sik
Park Kyung-sik is a developer at NAVER LABS, who says that he has been making robots ever since he came across the world of robotics while he was studying in graduate school about 10 years ago. He first began his career as an R&D specialist in charge of developing robot vacuum cleaners at a large enterprise, then joined a 5-person venture to make a service robot that transports cargo in airports. The reason he decided to join NAVER LABS after working in a conglomerate and a venture is that he was curious about “robots that IT companies will make” as opposed to other manufacturing-based companies. Kyung-sik joined NAVER LABS 4 years ago, and now leads a project for developing the mobile robot “AROUND.” He describes the project “AROUND” as his destiny.
Since the beginning of your career until now, you have been working with robots.
Yes, I’ve been making mobile robots on wheels for 10 years now. To be honest, developing robots has never really been my dream – it was more of a coincidence that I started making robots. But I think I was actually able to do this for a lot longer with a fondness for my job because I didn’t start off with big expectations.
What sets NAVER LABS apart from its competitors in the field of robotics?
NAVER LABS is not a big company, but I think we are probably the best among companies that can handle each and every step of making a robot. We have not just the hardware and software but also the cloud infrastructure for making robots, which means we are capable of being a total solution provider for robots. Companies based on hardware manufacturing have larger production volumes, which means they have to do everything at a slower pace. But we can develop robots in a more agile way by making a small number of samples quickly, checking its performance and making the necessary changes. I think what sets us apart is that we can make everything from hardware to software in the way we want, which is uncommon in the industry.
Tell us about the work you are doing in the Software & Machine Learning team now.
Our team is currently working on the software or autonomous driving technology for the mobile robot AROUND, as well as software platform development for the robot “AMBIDEX” which has 2 arms but no legs. We also develop robotics software integrated with cloud.
AROUND will be servicing our employees in NAVER’s new office building. For instance, when employees receive a package they have to go pick it up. Our first service will be using robots to have it delivered to their seats at the time of their choice. We are also preparing a service to enable employees to have their lunch delivered to their seats, and a coffee delivery service so that employees won't have to go to cafes to pick up coffee.
There are talks in the media about how robots will soon outperform humans in areas where they were thought to be irreplaceable.
Many people think that with machine learning, we will soon be building something like Skynet that will take over the entire humanity. But I think that cannot be further away from the truth. For that to become a reality, more research on machine learning and new paradigms will have to be done before putting them into actual applications.
Developing robots actually requires a deeper understanding of human nature. Responding flexibly to a situation, which I mentioned earlier, can only be done based on an understanding of humans. Robots have to understand what humans would like in a given situation, or how humans would act in a society with a specific cultural background. Laying this kind of groundwork is important, which is why robots capable of providing better services would only be developed based on a deeper understanding of humans.
I’ve never really been that good at engineering or mathematics. I know it sounds ironic, but I was always more interested in liberal arts. I think working on robots suits me quite well in this sense.
What does it mean to be good at your job?
I think those who have the motivation within themselves to keep going are the ones who are good at their jobs. Those people who do not work because of other people. Having the motivation within yourself means that you are truly in love with your work. You would strive to do better, which in turn would lead to a better outcome.
Also, I think it’s important to finish what you’ve started when you’re working within an organization. It is easy to start doing something, but finishing it until the very end is what sets professionals apart from others.
