World-first robot pilot developed by Korean research team

A Korean research team has developed the world’s first humanoid pilot capable of flying an aircraft.

Pibot, a humanoid pilot robot developed by a KAIST research team, grabs a flight control stick in the cockpit of a flight simulator. [KAIST]

A Korean research team has developed the world’s first humanoid pilot capable of flying an aircraft.

The project, funded by the Agency for Defense Development with a budget of 5.7 billion won ($4.5 million), is being led by Shim Hyun-chul, an engineering professor at KAIST. Three other engineering professors from the Daejeon-based tech university are taking part in the project.

Named Pibot, the robot can understand written natural language and fly a plane based on a written flight manual. It can sit in a cockpit to directly control an aircraft like its human counterpart, according to KAIST.

Unlike previous autopilot systems or unmanned aerial vehicles, the robot enables unmanned flights without any adjustments to be made to the aircraft.

“The humanoid pilot can immediately enable automated flight without any modifications to existing aircraft, which makes it highly practical and widely applicable,” said Shim.

“As the robot can control not only aircraft but also other vehicles such as cars and armored vehicles, we expect it to be utilized to solve the fast-aggravating issue of shrinking military resources,” added the professor.

Pibot, a humanoid pilot robot developed by a KAIST research team, sits in a cockpit of a flight simulator. [KAIST]

Unlike previous robots that could only perform repeated moves in a fixed spot, the latest Pibot can understand what is happening inside the cockpit and outside the aircraft through its camera, KAIST explained.

The research team plans to put Pibot on a light aircraft for a test flight.

The project began in 2022 and will be completed in 2026, with the goal of marketing the technology for business and military use.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]