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KAIST Develops a Multifunctional Structural Battery Capable of Energy Storage and Load Support
Structural batteries are used in industries such as eco-friendly, energy-based automobiles, mobility, and aerospace, and they must simultaneously meet the requirements of high energy density for energy storage and high load-bearing capacity. Conventional structural battery technology has struggled to enhance both functions concurrently. However, KAIST researchers have succeeded in developing foundational technology to address this issue.
< Photo 1. (From left) Professor Seong Su Kim, PhD candidates Sangyoon Bae and Su Hyun Lim of the Department of Mechanical Engineering >
< Photo 2. (From left) Professor Seong Su Kim and Master's Graduate Mohamad A. Raja of KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering >
KAIST (represented by President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 19th of November that Professor Seong Su Kim's team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering has developed a thin, uniform, high-density, multifunctional structural carbon fiber composite battery* capable of supporting loads, and that is free from fire risks while offering high energy density.
*Multifunctional structural batteries: Refers to the ability of each material in the composite to simultaneously serve as a load-bearing structure and an energy storage element.
Early structural batteries involved embedding commercial lithium-ion batteries into layered composite materials. These batteries suffered from low integration of their mechanical and electrochemical properties, leading to challenges in material processing, assembly, and design optimization, making commercialization difficult.
To overcome these challenges, Professor Kim's team explored the concept of "energy-storing composite materials," focusing on interface and curing properties, which are critical in traditional composite design. This led to the development of high-density multifunctional structural carbon fiber composite batteries that maximize multifunctionality.
The team analyzed the curing mechanisms of epoxy resin, known for its strong mechanical properties, combined with ionic liquid and carbonate electrolyte-based solid polymer electrolytes. By controlling temperature and pressure, they were able to optimize the curing process.
The newly developed structural battery was manufactured through vacuum compression molding, increasing the volume fraction of carbon fibers—serving as both electrodes and current collectors—by over 160% compared to previous carbon-fiber-based batteries.
This greatly increased the contact area between electrodes and electrolytes, resulting in a high-density structural battery with improved electrochemical performance. Furthermore, the team effectively controlled air bubbles within the structural battery during the curing process, simultaneously enhancing the battery's mechanical properties.
Professor Seong Su Kim, the lead researcher, explained, “We proposed a framework for designing solid polymer electrolytes, a core material for high-stiffness, ultra-thin structural batteries, from both material and structural perspectives. These material-based structural batteries can serve as internal components in cars, drones, airplanes, and robots, significantly extending their operating time with a single charge. This represents a foundational technology for next-generation multifunctional energy storage applications.”
< Figure 2. Supplementary cover of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces >
Mohamad A. Raja, a master’s graduate of KAIST’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, participated as the first author of this research, which was published in the prestigious journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces on September 10. The paper was recognized for its excellence and selected as a supplementary cover article. (Paper title: “Thin, Uniform, and Highly Packed Multifunctional Structural Carbon Fiber Composite Battery Lamina Informed by Solid Polymer Electrolyte Cure Kinetics.” https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c08698)
This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea’s Mid-Career Researcher Program and the National Semiconductor Research Laboratory Development Program.
2024.11.27 View 142 -
KAIST’s RAIBO2 becomes the World’s First Robo-dog to Successfully Complete a Full-course Marathon
KAIST's quadrupedal walking robot "RAIBO", which can run seamlessly on sandy beaches, has now evolved into "RAIBO2"and achieved the groundbreaking milestone by becomeing the world's first quadrupedal robot to successfully complete a full-course marathon in an official event.
< Photo 1. A group photo of RAIBO2 and the team after completing the full-course marathon >
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 17th of November that Professor Je Min Hwangbo's research team of the Department of Mechanical Engineering participated in the 22nd Sangju Dried-Persimmon Marathon and completed the full-course race (42.195 km) with a time of 4 hours 19 minutes and 52 seconds.
< Photo 2. RAIBO2 after completing the full-course marathon with its official record presented on the photo wall >
The Sangju Dried Persimmon Marathon is known for its challenging course featuring two 50 m elevation climbs, each at the 14 km and 28 km marks, making it defficult for amateur runners. This made it an especially demanding challenge for the walking robot, as unexpected losses in efficiency could occur.
< Photo 3. RAIBO2 with the completion medal around its neck >
To prepare RAIBO2, Professor Hwangbo's team developed a walking controller using reinforcement learning algorithms within their proprietary simulation environment "RaiSim". This simulator allowed the team to simlate diverse terrains such as slopes, stairs, and icy roads to ensure stable walking performance.
In particular, RAIBO2's high torque transparency joint mechanism enable the robot to efficiently harvest energy on the downhill slopes to regain some of the energy used in climbing up steep hill.
In addition, the stability of the robot was greatly improved through the collaboration with RAION ROBOTICS Inc., a company founded by the researchers from Professor Hwangbo’s lab.
< Figure 1. Conceptual diagram of power flow employed by the quadrupedal robot >
< Figure 2. The process of leg posture change of RAIBO2 walking at the most efficient walking speed of 3 m/s. By reducing the ground contact speed of the feet, the collision energy loss was reduced, and by minimizing the slipperiness of the foot upon contact, the body's kinetic energy was maintained towards the direction of the movement. >
Due to the nature of walking, pedal robots must employ highly complex systems that can withstand periodic vibrations from the frequent impacts that occur upon contact with the ground surface. Immediately after development, high efficiency was already recorded in short-distance experiments in the laboratory at the beginning of the year, but the manufacturing technology of RAION ROBOTICS significantly bolstered RAIBO's performance in running safely for a prolonged time of more than 4 hours among random pack of people in an actual marathon.
Compared to previous studies on improving walking efficiency, where external parts or software could not be changed and only limited improvements were made in some areas, Professor Hwangbo’s research team cited the fact that they were able to comprehensively solve problems by developing all steps and parts in-house, including mechanism design, electrical design, software, and artificial intelligence, as a key factor in improving efficiency.
Following the development of RAIBO1, the research team developed RAIBO2 and optimized all aspects of the robot. In particular, the team integrated the motor driver circuitry directly into the robot to minimize actuator losses and increase the control bandwidth, greatly improving walking efficiency and stability.
< Photo 4. RAIBO2 running the full-course marathon along human participants >
Choongin Lee, a Ph.D. Student that co-first author of the studies on RAIBO, said, “Through the marathon project, we demonstrated that RAIBO2 has the walking performance to stably execute services such as delivery and patrol in urban environments with many people and random objects,” and “In follow-up research, we will add autonomous navigation functions to RAIBO and strive to achieve the world’s best walking performance in mountainous and disaster environments.”
< Photo 5. RAIBO2 and co-first authors of the related research at the Ph.D. program of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KAIST. (From left) Choongin Lee, Donghoon Youm, and Jeongsoo Park >
This research was conducted with the support of Samsung Electronics Future Technology Promotion Center and RAION ROBOTICS Inc.
2024.11.17 View 1559 -
KAIST Unveils New Possibilities for Treating Intractable Brain Tumors
< Photo 1. (From left) Professor Heung Kyu Lee, KAIST Department of Biological Sciences, and Dr. Keun Bon Ku >
Immunotherapy, which enhances the immune system's T cell response to eliminate cancer cells, has emerged as a key approach in cancer treatment. However, in the case of glioblastoma, an aggressive and treatment-resistant brain tumor, numerous clinical trials have failed to confirm their efficacy. Korean researchers have recently analyzed the mechanisms that cause T cell exhaustion, which is characterized by a loss of function or a weakened response following prolonged exposure to antigens in such intractable cancers, identifying key control factors in T cell activation and clarifying the mechanisms that enhance therapeutic effectiveness.
KAIST (represented by President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 6th of November that Professor Heung Kyu Lee’s team from the Department of Biological Sciences, in collaboration with the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (represented by President Young Kuk Lee), has confirmed improved survival rates in a glioblastoma mouse model. By removing the inhibitory Fc gamma receptor (FcγRIIB), the research team was able to restore the responsiveness of cytotoxic T cells to immune checkpoint inhibitors, leading to enhanced anticancer activity.
The research team examined the effect of FcγRIIB, an inhibitory receptor recently found in cytotoxic T cells, on tumor-infiltrating T cells and the therapeutic effectiveness of the anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor.
< Figure 1. Study results on improved survival rate due to increased antitumor activity of anti-PD-1 treatment in inhibitory Fc gamma receptor(Fcgr2b) ablation mice with murine glioblastoma. >
Their findings showed that deleting FcγRIIB induced the increase of tumor antigen-specific memory T cells, which helps to suppress exhaustion, enhances stem-like qualities, and reactivates T cell-mediated antitumor immunity, particularly in response to anti-PD-1 treatment. Furthermore, FcγRIIB deletion led to an increase in antigen-specific memory T cells that maintained continuous infiltration into the tumor tissue.
This study presents a new therapeutic target for tumors unresponsive to immune checkpoint inhibitors and demonstrates that combining FcγRIIB inhibition with anti-PD-1 treatment can produce synergistic effects, potentially improving therapeutic outcomes for tumors like glioblastoma, which typically show resistance to anti-PD-1 therapy.
< Figure 2. Overview of the study on the enhanced response to anti-PD-1 therapy for glioblastoma brain tumors upon deletion of the inhibitory Fc gamma receptor (FcγRIIB) in tumor microenvironment. When the inhibitory Fc gamma receptor (FcγRIIB) of cytotoxic T cells is deleted, an increase in tumor-specific memory T cells (Ttsms) was observed. In addition, this T cell subset is identified as originating from the tumor-draining lymph nodes(TdLNs) and leads to persistent infiltration into the tumor tissue. Anti-PD-1 therapy leads to an increased anti-tumor immune response via Ttsms, which is confirmed by increased tumor cell toxicity and increased cell division and decreased cell de-migration indices. Ultimately, the increased cytotoxic T cell immune response leads to an increase in the survival rate of glioblastoma. >
Professor Heung Kyu Lee explained, "This study offers a way to overcome clinical failures in treating brain tumors with immune checkpoint therapy and opens possibilities for broader applications to other intractable cancers. It also highlights the potential of utilizing cytotoxic T cells for tumor cell therapy."
The study, led by Dr. Keun Bon Ku of KAIST (currently a senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology's Center for Infectious Disease Diagnosis and Prevention), along with Chae Won Kim, Yumin Kim, Byeong Hoon Kang, Jeongwoo La, In Kang, Won Hyung Park, Stephen Ahn, and Sung Ki Lee, was published online on October 26 in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, an international journal in tumor immunology and therapy from the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer. (Paper title: “Inhibitory Fcγ receptor deletion enhances CD8 T cell stemness increasing anti-PD-1 therapy responsiveness against glioblastoma,” http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jitc-2024-009449).
This research received support from the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Bio & Medical Technology Development Program, and the Samsung Science & Technology Foundation.
2024.11.15 View 377 -
KAIST’s Beach-Roaming Quadrupedal Robot “RAIBO” to Run a Marathon!
“RAIBO”, KAIST’s four-legged robot featuring remarkable agility even on challenging terrains like sandy beaches, is now set to be the first in the world to complete a full marathon.
< Photo 1. A group photo of the research team of Professor Je Min Hwangbo (second from the right in the front row) of the Department of Mechanical Engineering who participated in the marathon event at 2024 Geumsan Insam Festival last September >
On the 17th of November, KAIST (represented by President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced that Professor Je Min Hwangbo’s team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering has developed an upgraded version, “RAIBO2,” which will take on the full 42.195-kilometer course at the "Sangju Dried-Persimmon Marathon".
This is over double the previous maximum distance achieved by quadruped robots, which was limited to around 20 kilometers. The KAIST team has successfully developed a robot that can walk continuously for 43 kilometers on a single charge, completing the course in 4 hours and 40 minutes by following a GPS-guided path on the university’s main athletic field. Through this marathon, the team aims to demonstrate RAIBO2’s walking performance in an actual urban environment.
Previously, most measurements of walking robots’ travel distances were confined to controlled laboratory conditions or theoretical data. This marathon challenge is thus significant in that the robot will run alongside the general public in a real urban setting, marking the first attempt to validate the practical potential of four-legged robots in real environments.
Quadruped robots have shown advantages in challenging terrains, such as ice, sand, and mountainous areas, where they can walk stably. However, limited travel distance and running time have long been obstacles to wider applications.
< Figure 1. Conceptual diagram of power flow employed by the quadruped robot >
Professor Hwangbo’s team designed every component of the robot, from its actuators to its mechanical structure, to overcome these limitations. Notably, they implemented an efficient walking control system based on reinforcement learning using their proprietary dynamic simulator “RaiSim”.
The team also collected and analyzed walking data from outdoor environments, creating a model to address walking losses. This model was then used to iteratively improve walking efficiency over one full year.
< Figure 2. The leg posture change process of RAIBO2 walking at the most efficient walking speed of 3 m/s. By reducing the ground contact speed of the feet, the collision energy loss was reduced, and by minimizing the slipperiness of the foot upon contact, the body's kinetic energy was maintained towards the direction of the movement. >
This is the team’s second attempt. Their first was during the marathon event at “Geumsan Insam Festival” in September when the robot’s battery ran out at the 37-kilometer mark, falling short of completion. The battery drained 10 kilometers earlier than expected due to frequent speed changes as the robot adjusted to the pacing of other runners on the course.
Following the initial attempt, the team focused on technical improvements for a successful finish. They enhanced control efficiency by implementing joint stiffness control directly onto the motor actuator and increased battery capacity by 33% by refining the internal structure. These improvements enabled the robot to cover a maximum distance of 67 kilometers on straight paths.
< Figure 3. Data from completing 43 km on a single charge at the main sports field on campus. Left) GPS data of the driving course used during autonomous running. Middle) Covered distance by the hour. Right) Energy consumption by module >
Choongin Lee, a Ph.D. student of RAI Lab who is one of the co-first author of this study, explained, “Our comprehensive analysis of walking losses in terms of mechanics, electrical systems, and walking methods was crucial to improving walking efficiency. This research marks an important milestone in extending the operating range of quadruped robots to urban environments.”
< Photo 2. A Photo from Practice Run>
This research was supported by the Samsung Electronics Future Technology Development Center and RAION ROBOTICS Co., Ltd.
< Photo 3. A Photo from Practice Run >
2024.11.15 View 505 -
KAIST Researchers Suggest an Extraordinary Alternative to Petroleum-based PET - Bacteria!
< (From left) Dr. Cindy Pricilia, Ph.D. Candidate Cheon Woo Moon, Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee >
Currently, the world is suffering from environmental problems caused by plastic waste. The KAIST research team has succeeded in producing a microbial-based plastic that is biodegradable and can replace existing PET bottles, making it a hot topic.
Our university announced on the 7th of November that the research team of Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering has succeeded in developing a microbial strain that efficiently produces pseudoaromatic polyester monomer to replace polyethylene terephthalate (PET) using systems metabolic engineering.
Pseudoaromatic dicarboxylic acids have better physical properties and higher biodegradability than aromatic polyester (PET) when synthesized as polymers, and are attracting attention as an eco-friendly monomer* that can be synthesized into polymers. The production of pseudoaromatic dicarboxylic acids through chemical methods has the problems of low yield and selectivity, complex reaction conditions, and the generation of hazardous waste.
*Monomer: A material for making polymers, which is used to synthesize polymers by polymerizing monomers together
< Figure. Overview of pseudoaromatic dicarboxylic acid production using metabolically engineered C. glutamicum. >
To solve this problem, Professor Sang Yup Lee's research team used metabolic engineering to develop a microbial strain that efficiently produces five types of pseudoaromatic dicarboxylic acids, including 2-pyrone-4,6-dicarboxylic acid and four types of pyridine dicarboxylic acids (2,3-, 2,4-, 2,5-, 2,6-pyridine dicarboxylic acids), in Corynebacterium, a bacterium mainly used for amino acid production.
The research team used metabolic engineering techniques to build a platform microbial strain that enhances the metabolic flow of protocatechuic acid, which is used as a precursor for several pseudoaromatic dicarboxylic acids, and prevents the loss of precursors.
Based on this, the genetic manipulation target was discovered through transcriptome analysis, producing 76.17 g/L of 2-pyrone-4,6-dicarboxylic acid, and by newly discovering and constructing three types of pyridine dicarboxylic acid production metabolic pathways, successfully producing 2.79 g/L of 2,3-pyridine dicarboxylic acid, 0.49 g/L of 2,4-pyridine dicarboxylic acid, and 1.42 g/L of 2,5-pyridine dicarboxylic acid.
In addition, the research team confirmed the production of 15.01 g/L through the construction and reinforcement of the 2,6-pyridine dicarboxylic acid biosynthesis pathway, successfully producing a total of five similar aromatic dicarboxylic acids with high efficiency.
In conclusion, the team succeeded in producing 2,4-, 2,5-, and 2,6-pyridine dicarboxylic acids at the world's highest concentration. In particular, 2,4-, 2,5-pyridine dicarboxylic acid achieved production on the scale of g/L, which was previously produced in extremely small amounts (mg/L).
Based on this study, it is expected that it will be applied to various polyester production industrial processes, and it is also expected that it will be actively utilized in research on the production of similar aromatic polyesters.
Professor Sang Yup Lee, the corresponding author, said, “The significance lies in the fact that we have developed an eco-friendly technology that efficiently produces similar aromatic polyester monomers based on microorganisms,” and “This study will help the microorganism-based bio-monomer industry replace the petrochemical-based chemical industry in the future.”
The results of this study were published in the international academic journal, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of United States of America (PNAS) on October 30th.
※ Paper title: Metabolic engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum for the production of pyrone and pyridine dicarboxylic acids
※ Author information: Jae Sung Cho (co-first author), Zi Wei Luo (co-first author), Cheon Woo Moon (co-first author), Cindy Prabowo (co-author), Sang Yup Lee (corresponding author) - a total of 5 people
This study was conducted with the support of the Development of Next-generation Biorefinery Platform Technologies for Leading Bio-based Chemicals Industry Project and the Development of Platform Technologies of Microbial Cell Factories for the Next-generation Biorefineries Project (Project leader: Professor Sang Yup Lee) from the National Research Foundation supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology and ICT of Korea.
2024.11.08 View 1128 -
A KAIST Team Develops Face-Conforming LED Mask Showing 340% Improved Efficacy in Deep Skin Elasticity
- A KAIST research team led by Professor Keon Jae Lee has developed a deep skin-stimulating LED mask which has been verified in clinical trials to improve dermis elasticity by 340%.
< Figure 1. Overall concept of face-fit surface-lighting micro-LEDs (FSLED) mask. a. Optical image of the FSLED mask showing uniform surface-lighting. schematic illustration of the FSLED mask. The 2D to 3D transformation procedure b. Difference in cosmetic effect on deep skin elasticity, wrinkles, and sagging between FSLED mask and CLED mask. (improvement percentage in eight weeks) >
Conventional LED masks, with their rigid design, fail to conform closely to the skin's contours. This limitation causes substantial light reflection, with up to 90% reflected over a distance of 2 cm, reducing light penetration and limiting stimulation of the deep skin layers essential for effective skin rejuvenation.
To address these challenges, Professor Lee's team developed a face-conforming surface lighting micro-LED (FSLED) mask, which can provide uniform photostimulation to the dermis. The key technology lies in the mask's ability to deliver uniform light to deep skin tissues while maintaining a conformal skin attachment. This is achieved through a 3D origami structure, integrated with 3,770 micro-LEDs and flexible surface light-diffusion layer, minimizing the gaps between the light source and the skin.
In clinical trials involving 33 participants, the FSLED mask demonstrated a 340% improvement in deep skin elasticity compared to conventional LED masks, proving its efficacy in significantly reducing skin wrinkles, sagging and aging.
Professor Keon Jae Lee said, “The FSLED mask provides cosmetic benefits to the entire facial dermis without the side effects of low-temperature burns, making home-care anti-aging treatment that enhances the quality of human life possible. The product is being manufactured by Fronics, KAIST startup company, and will be distributed globally through Amorepacific's network, with sales starting in November.”
This result titled “Clinical Validation of Face-fit Surface-lighting Micro Light-emitting Diode Mask for Skin Anti-aging Treatment”, in which Min Seo Kim, a student of the Master-Doctorate integrated program, and Jaehun An, a Ph.D. candidate, in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of KAIST, took part as co-first authors, was published in Advanced Materials on October 22nd, 2024 (DOI: 10.1002/adma.202411651).
Introductory Video: Face-conforming surface LED mask for skin anti-aging ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSccLwx8N_w )
2024.10.29 View 1287 -
Team KAIST Crowned Champion for their World’s Best Ironman, Winning their 2nd Consecutive Win at the Cyborg Olympics
< Group photo of our research team participating in the 3rd Cybathlon >
The Cybathlon is an international competition, which aims to help overcome disabilities through the use of robotics technology. KAIST researchers came in third, winning the bronze medal, at their 1st participation in 2016, won their first gold medal at the 2nd competition in 2020, and took back the gold medal at this year’s 3rd competition, successfully defending their champion title.
KAIST (President Kwang-Hyung Lee) announced on the 28th of October that the wearable robot ‘WalkON Suit F1’ developed by the joint research team of KAIST EXO-Lab, Move Lab, and Angel Robotics, led by Professor Kyoungchul Kong of the Department of Mechanical Engineering (Chairman of Angel Robotics), won gold medal in Cybathlon 2024 held on the 27th.
< Seunghwan Kim, the Paraplegic Pilot of Team KAIST, cheering after completing all the missions >
Cybathlon is an international competition first held in Switzerland that challenges teams to develop assistive technologies with the purpose of overcoming disabilities, and is also called the Cyborg Olympics. Right after each competition, the missions for the next competition are announced, and research teams from around the world research and develop the right assistive technology for next four years to accomplish the given mission.
Aside from the Exoskeleton Race, competitions in a total of eight disciplines are held, including Arm Prosthesis Race, Leg Prosthesis Race, and Wheelchair Race. A total of 71 teams from 26 countries participated in the 3rd Cybathlon event. Professor Kyoungchul Kong’s research team participated in the Exoskeleton Race, the same discipline they took part in the previous competition.
The Exoskeleton Race is the highlight of the event that can be called the core of the Cybathlon. In the prosthetic arm or leg events, disabled athletes wearing traditional assistive devices instead of powered devices often win depending more on the ability of the athletes rather than the technology behind the tools.
However, the exoskeleton event requires individuals with paraplegic disability to walk completely dependent on the robotic device to perform various missions, so the technical difficulty and the dependence on robotics technology is high.
In fact, many teams gave up on participating after seeing the missions for this competition, and more than half of the research teams declared withdrawal during the developmental process. In the end, only six teams from Korea, Thailands, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands participated in the actual competition. Even the research team from the Swiss headquarters declared forfeiture midway as the competition date drew nearer.
< Cybathlon 2024 – Exoskeleton Race Mission Description >
The reason why many teams gave up in the exoskeleton discipline was because the difficulty of the missions was unusually high. Most research teams have the skills to make paraplegic athletes walk, but there were many other difficult tasks, such as making them walk without crutches or using both hands, while standing free on both legs on the exoskeleton, to cut a lump of sponge block, as in imitating food preparing process.
The reason why the difficulty of the missions increased like this is because Professor Kong's research team completed all the missions given to them too quickly in the last competition. In fact, in the last competition, there was even a question asked whether Kim Byeong-Uk (paraplegic) wearing the WalkON Suit F1 was really disabled.
Professor Kong's research team developed WalkON Suit F1 to successfully complete the missions. The number of motorized joints increased from six to twelve, and the output of the motor itself was more than doubled compared to the previous model that ran in the competition back in 2020. The 6-channel ground reaction force sensor on the foot measured the robot's balance 1,000 times per second to maintain balance. Cameras were installed to detect obstacles, and an AI board for implementation of AI neural network was also installed.
On top of the technologies required to complete the competition missions, a function was implemented that allows the users to wear the robot by themselves and dock on to it right from their wheelchair. In the process, all parts were domestically produced and all basic technologies were internalized. The outer design of the robot was done by Professor Hyunjoon Park of KAIST, and the harmony between people and robots was pursued.
In the end, the results of the competition were as expected. The only team that could successfully perform all of the mission tasks, which were originally designed to challenge Professor Kong's research team, was Professor Kong's team. They successfully completed missions such as moving by sidesteps between narrow chairs, moving boxes, walking freely unassisted by crutches, passing through a narrow door and closing it behind, and working on food preparation in the kitchen, recording 6 minutes and 41 seconds to complete all six tasks.
The Swiss and Thai teams that took 2nd and 3rd places were all given 10 minutes, but only were able to perform two missions, each earning twenty points. It was an unevenly matched race to begin with. The Cybathlon broadcast team was more surprised and interested in the performance of WalkON Suit F1 than in result of the race.
< Team KAIST’s Paraplegic Pilot Seunghwan Kim (left), and Professor Kyoungchul Kong (right) >
Researcher Jeongsu Park, the captain of Team KAIST, said, “We came into this competition thinking of it as a competition against ourselves to begin with and focused on showing the technological gap. Now, we are very happy and proud that our endeavors achieved such good result as well.” He added, “We plan to continue to showcase various functions of the WalkON Suit F1 that have not yet been publicly introduced.”
Researcher Seunghwan Kim, the paraplegic athlete of the team, said, “I am so touched that I was able to introduce the world’s best wearable robot technology of Korea with my own body.”
On a different note, Professor Kong’s research team has successfully commercialized wearable robots through Angel Robotics Co., Ltd. since the 2020 competition. In 2022, they began distributing “ANGEL LEGS M20,” the first wearable robot to be covered by health insurance, and as a result, Angel Robotics Co., Ltd. was successfully listed on KOSDAQ this March.
The various know-how and core technologies accumulated while preparing for this competition is to contribute to further development and propagation of wearable robots, provoking imagination to draw on the future of wearable robots and on how it may change our daily lives.
Final Match (Self-filmed): https://youtu.be/3ASAtvkiOhw
Final Match and Interview (Official Video): https://youtu.be/FSfxOTpDjSE
Final Match and Interview (Summary): https://youtu.be/Sb_vd5-3f_0
2024.10.28 View 1897 -
KAIST Introduces a Wearable Robot that Walks and Puts itself on to Disabled Persons
< Photo 1. WalkON Suit F1 - walking demonstration >
KAIST researchers have unveiled a new wearable robot developed for completely paralyzed persons that can walk to them so that the user can wear it right out of their wheelchairs without the help from others. Also, it was announced that Professor Kyoungchul Kong's team from KAIST will be participating in the wearable robot category of the 3rd Cybathlon, which is being held four years after the team’s gold medal win in 2020.
KAIST (President Kwang-Hyung Lee) announced this new version of the wearable robot for paraplegic people, WalkON Suit F1, by Professor Kyoungchul Kong (CEO and founder of Angel Robotics) of KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering on the 24th of October.
< Photo 2. (From left) Professor Kyoungchul Kong of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Researcher Seunghwan Kim (the competing athlete), and PhD candidate Jeongsu Park (the leader of Team KAIST) >
WalkON Suit is a wearable robot for people suffering with paraplegic disabilities that the research team has been continuously researching since 2015. This robot targets to assist persons with American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale – A (complete paralysis) grade injury, the most severe level of paraplegia. Therefore, its development purpose is different from that of other rehabilitation therapy and muscle strength assisting robots currently being supplied nationally by Angel Robotics.
Professor Kong's research team first announced WalkON Suit 1 in 2016, and then introduced WalkON Suit 4 in 2020, increasing the walking speed to 3.2 km/h, achieving the normal walking speed of people with no disabilities. In addition, it demonstrated the ability to pass through obstacles such as narrow passages, doors, and stairs that can be encountered in daily life.
However, it had the same fundamental problem all wearable robots have, which is that they require the help of others to wear the robot. While you can walk without help from others once you are wearing the robot, you needed someone's help to put it on to begin with.
The newly released WalkON Suit F1 presented a technical solution to this fundamental problem. It applied a frontal-docking method instead of a rear-sitting method so that you can wear the robot right away without getting out of the wheelchair and into the robot, which would require help from others mid-transition.
< Photo 3. WalkON Suit F1 - suiting-up demonstration >
In addition, before wearing the robot, it can walk on its own like a humanoid robot and approaches the user. It is also implemented a function that actively controls the center of its weight against the pull of gravity so that it maintains balance without falling over even if the user pushes the robot otherwise. The outer design of the WalkON Suit F1, which crosses between a humanoid and a wearable robot, was done by Professor Hyunjoon Park of the Department of Industrial Design at KAIST.
The original function of the wearable robot has also been greatly improved. The performance of the balance control was improved to allow the free use of both hands in upright state, as well as the freedom to take several steps without a cane.
Technological advancements at the components level are also noteworthy. Through close collaboration with Angel Robotics, all core components of the robot, such as the motor, reducer, motor driver, and main circuit, have been domestically produced. The output density of the motor and reducer modules has been improved by about two folds (based on power per weight) compared to the research team's existing technology, and the control performance of the motor driver has been improved by about three times (based on frequency response speed) compared to the best overseas technology.
In particular, the embedded software technology of the motor driver has been significantly improved so that advanced motion control algorithms can be stably implemented without using expensive higher-level controllers. In addition, visual recognition system for obstacle detection and an AI board for neural network application have been installed.
< Figure 1. WalkON Suit F1 shape and main specifications >
Professor Kong explained, “WalkON Suit is the culmination of wearable robot technology for the disabled,” and added, “The numerous components, control, and module technologies derived from WalkON Suit are setting the standard for the entire wearable robot industry.”
Professor Kong’s research team revealed WalkON Suit F1 and announced that they will be participating in the 3rd Cybathlon, which is being held after four years since the last event. In this competition, which will be held on October 27, Professor Kong’s lab, the Exo Lab will be participating with Jeongsu Park, a Ph.D. Student, as the leader and Seunghwan Kim, the lab’s staff researcher with complete paralysis, as the competing athlete.
The difficulty of the missions in this competition has been significantly increased compared to the previous competition, and the number of missions has increased from six to ten. Some missions have been criticized for being overly challenging, going beyond the level that can be encountered in everyday life.
< Photo 4. Cybathlon stadium (Angel Robotics Asia Hub) >
Regarding this, the team leader Jeongsu Park expressed his ambition, saying, “Since we already won first place in the previous competition, our goal in this competition is to show the technological gap rather than competing for rankings.”
The Cybathlon is a cyborg Olympics held every four years in Switzerland. This competition will be held in a hybrid format, with some participants taking part in Switzerland while others broadcasting live from stadiums in their own country on October 27. Professor Kong's research team will be participating via live broadcast from the competition facilities installed in Angel Robotics' Advanced Research Institute (Planet Daejeon).
< Photo 5. Photo of Team KAIST participating in Cybathlon 2024 >
The demonstration video of WalkON Suit F1 can be viewed through the link below.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/@KyoungchulKong_EXO-Lab
2024.10.24 View 3435 -
KAIST Proposes a New Way to Circumvent a Long-time Frustration in Neural Computing
The human brain begins learning through spontaneous random activities even before it receives sensory information from the external world. The technology developed by the KAIST research team enables much faster and more accurate learning when exposed to actual data by pre-learning random information in a brain-mimicking artificial neural network, and is expected to be a breakthrough in the development of brain-based artificial intelligence and neuromorphic computing technology in the future.
KAIST (President Kwang-Hyung Lee) announced on the 23rd of October that Professor Se-Bum Paik 's research team in the Department of Brain Cognitive Sciences solved the weight transport problem*, a long-standing challenge in neural network learning, and through this, explained the principles that enable resource-efficient learning in biological brain neural networks.
*Weight transport problem: This is the biggest obstacle to the development of artificial intelligence that mimics the biological brain. It is the fundamental reason why large-scale memory and computational work are required in the learning of general artificial neural networks, unlike biological brains.
Over the past several decades, the development of artificial intelligence has been based on error backpropagation learning proposed by Geoffery Hinton, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics this year. However, error backpropagation learning was thought to be impossible in biological brains because it requires the unrealistic assumption that individual neurons must know all the connected information across multiple layers in order to calculate the error signal for learning.
< Figure 1. Illustration depicting the method of random noise training and its effects >
This difficult problem, called the weight transport problem, was raised by Francis Crick, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the structure of DNA, after the error backpropagation learning was proposed by Hinton in 1986. Since then, it has been considered the reason why the operating principles of natural neural networks and artificial neural networks will forever be fundamentally different.
At the borderline of artificial intelligence and neuroscience, researchers including Hinton have continued to attempt to create biologically plausible models that can implement the learning principles of the brain by solving the weight transport problem.
In 2016, a joint research team from Oxford University and DeepMind in the UK first proposed the concept of error backpropagation learning being possible without weight transport, drawing attention from the academic world. However, biologically plausible error backpropagation learning without weight transport was inefficient, with slow learning speeds and low accuracy, making it difficult to apply in reality.
KAIST research team noted that the biological brain begins learning through internal spontaneous random neural activity even before experiencing external sensory experiences. To mimic this, the research team pre-trained a biologically plausible neural network without weight transport with meaningless random information (random noise).
As a result, they showed that the symmetry of the forward and backward neural cell connections of the neural network, which is an essential condition for error backpropagation learning, can be created. In other words, learning without weight transport is possible through random pre-training.
< Figure 2. Illustration depicting the meta-learning effect of random noise training >
The research team revealed that learning random information before learning actual data has the property of meta-learning, which is ‘learning how to learn.’ It was shown that neural networks that pre-learned random noise perform much faster and more accurate learning when exposed to actual data, and can achieve high learning efficiency without weight transport.
< Figure 3. Illustration depicting research on understanding the brain's operating principles through artificial neural networks >
Professor Se-Bum Paik said, “It breaks the conventional understanding of existing machine learning that only data learning is important, and provides a new perspective that focuses on the neuroscience principles of creating appropriate conditions before learning,” and added, “It is significant in that it solves important problems in artificial neural network learning through clues from developmental neuroscience, and at the same time provides insight into the brain’s learning principles through artificial neural network models.”
This study, in which Jeonghwan Cheon, a Master’s candidate of KAIST Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences participated as the first author and Professor Sang Wan Lee of the same department as a co-author, will be presented at the 38th Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), the world's top artificial intelligence conference, to be held in Vancouver, Canada from December 10 to 15, 2024. (Paper title: Pretraining with random noise for fast and robust learning without weight transport)
This study was conducted with the support of the National Research Foundation of Korea's Basic Research Program in Science and Engineering, the Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation Institute's Talent Development Program, and the KAIST Singularity Professor Program.
2024.10.23 View 990 -
KAIST Develops a Fire-risk Free Self-Powered Hydrogen Production System
KAIST researchers have developed a new hydrogen production system that overcomes the current limitations of green hydrogen production. By using a water-splitting system with an aqueous electrolyte, this system is expected to block fire risks and enable stable hydrogen production.
KAIST (represented by President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 22nd of October that a research team led by Professor Jeung Ku Kang from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering developed a self-powered hydrogen production system based on a high-performance zinc-air battery*.
*Zinc-air battery: A primary battery that absorbs oxygen from the air and uses it as an oxidant. Its advantage is long life, but its low electromotive force is a disadvantage.
Hydrogen (H₂) is a key raw material for synthesizing high-value-added substances, and it is gaining attention as a clean fuel with an energy density (142 MJ/kg) more than three times higher than traditional fossil fuels (gasoline, diesel, etc.). However, most current hydrogen production methods impose environmental burden as they emit carbon dioxide (CO₂).
While green hydrogen can be produced by splitting water using renewable energy sources such as solar cells and wind power, these sources are subject to irregular power generation due to weather and temperature fluctuations, leading to low water-splitting efficiency.
To overcome this, air batteries that can emit sufficient voltage (greater than 1.23V) for water splitting have been gaining attention. However, achieving sufficient capacity requires expensive precious metal catalysts and the performance of the catalyst materials becomes significantly degraded during prolonged charge and discharge cycles. Thus, it is essential to develop catalysts that are effective for the water-splitting reactions (oxygen and hydrogen evolution) and materials that can stabilize the repeated charge and discharge reactions (oxygen reduction and evolution) in zinc-air battery electrodes.
In response, Professor Kang's research team proposed a method to synthesize a non-precious metal catalyst material (G-SHELL) that is effective for three different catalytic reactions (oxygen evolution, hydrogen evolution, and oxygen reduction) by growing nano-sized, metal-organic frameworks on graphene oxide.
The team incorporated the developed catalyst material into the air cathode of a zinc-air battery, confirming that it achieved approximately five times higher energy density (797Wh/kg), high power characteristics (275.8mW/cm²), and long-term stability even under repeated charge and discharge conditions compared to conventional batteries.
Additionally, the zinc-air battery, which operates using an aqueous electrolyte, is safe from fire risks. It is expected that this system can be applied as a next-generation energy storage device when linked with water electrolysis systems, offering an environmentally friendly method for hydrogen production.
< Figure 1. Illustrations of a trifunctional graphene-sandwiched heterojunction-embedded layered lattice (G-SHELL) structure. Schematic representation of a) synthesis procedures of G-SHELL from a zeolitic imidazole framework, b) hollow core-layered shell structure with trifunctional sites for oxygen reduction evolution (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and c) heterojunctions, eterojunction-induced internal electric fields, and the corresponding band structure. >
Professor Kang explained, "By developing a catalyst material with high activity and durability for three different electrochemical catalytic reactions at low temperatures using simple methods, the self-powered hydrogen production system we implemented based on zinc-air batteries presents a new breakthrough to overcome the current limitations of green hydrogen production."
<Figure 2. Electrochemical performance of a ZAB-driven water-splitting cell with G-SHELL. Diagram of a self-driven water-splitting cell integrated by combining a ZAB with an alkaline water electrolyzer.>
PhD candidate Dong Won Kim and Jihoon Kim, a master's student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST, were co-first authors of this research, which was published in the international journal Advanced Science on September 17th in the multidisciplinary field of materials science. (Paper Title: “Trifunctional Graphene-Sandwiched Heterojunction-Embedded Layered Lattice Electrocatalyst for High Performance in Zn-Air Battery-Driven Water Splitting”)
This research was supported by the Nano and Material Technology Development Program of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea’s Future Technology Research Laboratory.
2024.10.22 View 1164 -
KAIST Develops Thread-like, Flexible Thermoelectric Materials Applicable in Extreme Environments
A team of Korean researchers developed a thermoelectric material that can be used in wearable devices, such as smart clothing, and while maintaining stable thermal energy performance even in extreme environments. It has dramatically resolved the dilemma of striking the balance between achieving good performance and the mechanical flexibility of thermoelectric materials, which has been a long-standing challenge in the field of thermoelectric materials, and has also proven the possibility of commercialization.
KAIST (President Kwang-Hyung Lee) announced on the 21st that a joint research team of Professor Yeon Sik Jung of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor Inkyu Park of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, in collaboration with the research teams of Professor Min-Wook Oh of Hanbat National University (President Yong Jun Oh) and Dr. Jun-Ho Jeong of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (President Seoghyun Ryu), have successfully developed ‘bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) thermoelectric fibers,’ an innovative energy harvesting solution for next-generation flexible electronic devices.
Thermoelectric materials are materials that generate voltage when there is a temperature difference and convert thermal energy into electrical energy. Currently, about 70% of energy being lost as wasted heat, so due attention is being given to research on these as sustainable energy materials that can recover and harvesting energy from this waste heat.
Most of the heat sources around us are curved, such as the human body, vehicle exhaust pipes, and cooling fins. Inorganic thermoelectric materials based on ceramic materials boast high thermoelectric performance, but they are fragile and difficult to produce in curved shapes. On the other hand, flexible thermoelectric materials using existing polymer binders can be applied to surfaces of various shapes, but their performance was limited due to the low electrical conductivity and high thermal resistance of the polymer.
Existing flexible thermoelectric materials contain polymer additives, but the inorganic thermoelectric material developed by the research team is not flexible, so they overcame these limitations by twisting nano ribbons instead of additives to produce a thread-shaped thermoelectric material. Inspired by the flexibility of inorganic nano ribbons, the research team used a nanomold-based electron beam deposition technique to continuously deposit nano ribbons and then twisted them into a thread shape to create bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) inorganic thermoelectric fibers.
These inorganic thermoelectric fibers have higher bending strength than existing thermoelectric materials, and showed almost no change in electrical properties even after repeated bending and tensile tests of more than 1,000 times. The thermoelectric device created by the research team generates electricity using temperature differences, and if clothes are made with fiber-type thermoelectric devices, electricity can be generated from body temperature to operate other electronic devices.
< Figure 1. Schematic diagram and actual image of the all-inorganic flexible thermoelectric yarn made without polymer additives >
In fact, the possibility of commercialization was proven through a demonstration of collecting energy by embedding thermoelectric fibers in life jackets or clothing. In addition, it opened up the possibility of building a high-efficiency energy harvesting system that recycles waste heat by utilizing the temperature difference between the hot fluid inside a pipe and the cold air outside in industrial settings.
Professor Yeon Sik Jung said, "The inorganic flexible thermoelectric material developed in this study can be used in wearable devices such as smart clothing, and it can maintain stable performance even in extreme environments, so it has a high possibility of being commercialized through additional research in the future." Professor Inkyu Park also emphasized, "This technology will become the core of next-generation energy harvesting technology, and it is expected to play an important role in various fields from waste heat utilization in industrial sites to personal wearable self-power generation devices."
This study, in which Hanhwi Jang, a Ph.D. student at KAIST's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor Junseong Ahn of Korea University, Sejong Campus, and Dr. Yongrok Jeong of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute contributed equally as joint first authors, was published in the online edition of the international academic journal Advanced Materials on September 17, and was selected as the back-cover paper in recognition of its excellence. (Paper title: Flexible All-Inorganic Thermoelectric Yarns)
Meanwhile, this study was conducted through the Mid-career Researcher Support Program and the Future Materials Discovery Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea, and the support from the Global Bio-Integrated Materials Center, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology Evaluation and Planning (KEIT) upon the support by the Ministry of Science and ICT.
2024.10.21 View 899 -
KAIST Industrial Design’s Professor Sangmin Bae’s team selected as Top 20 of James Dyson Award 2024
KAIST (President Kwang-Hyung Lee) announced that the 'Oxynizer', a non-electrical medical oxygen generator for developing countries designed by Professor Sangmin Bae's team in the Department of Industrial Design, has been selected to be the Top 20 of the James Dyson Award 2024. At the same time, it was announced on the 16th that it was selected as one of the top 100 ‘Prototypes for Humanity’ 2024 and will be exhibited in Dubai in November.
< Photo 1. Photo of the award-winning team of Professor Sangmin Bae’s students of KAIST Department of Industrial Designs at the James Dyson Award 2024 announcement of the National Winners >
The James Dyson Award is a design award hosted by Sir James Dyson, founder of Dyson, and receives ideas for solving everyday problems from next-generation engineers and designers around the world, and selects and awards innovative and excellent designs every year.
The ‘Oxynizer’ developed by Professor Sangmin Bae’s team was selected as the winner of the screening within Korea in September after competing with 122 domestic teams, and was awarded a prize of 5,000 pounds for idea advancement, product development, and commercialization.
< Photo 2. A photo of Professor Sangmin Bae’s students’ award-winning achievement, ‘Oxynizer’ >
In addition, on October 16th, it was selected as one of the top 20 international winners among 1,911 competing works from 29 countries around the world. The international winner will be selected by Sir James Dyson and announced on November 13th. The international competition winner will receive a prize of £5,000, and the winner will receive an additional £30,000, giving them the opportunity to commercialize their idea.
‘Prototype for Humanity’ is a global project hosted by Art Dubai Group and carried out in collaboration with Dubai Future Foundation, Dubai Arts & Culture Authority, and Dubai International Financial Center. It is a forum for international cooperation where leading universities around the world, including Harvard University and MIT, participate to discuss global problems and solutions.
‘Oxynizer’ was selected on September 11 as one of the top 100 out of 3,000 entries submitted by universities in over 100 countries, and will be exhibited at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers of Dubai Future Foundation from November 17 to 22. The organizers will select the top five during the exhibition period, and will award a total of $100,000 in prize money to the winners to support their research.
The ‘Oxynizer’ is a device developed by students Jiwon Kim, Kyeongho Park, Seung-Jun Lee, Jiwon Lee, Yeohyeon Jeong, and Jungwoo Kim under the guidance of Professor Sangmin Bae of KAIST, and is the result of research conducted in the ‘Design Project 1’ class for the graduate students of the Department of Industrial Design at KAIST.
< Photo 3. A photo of Professor Sangmin Bae’s students’ award-winning achievement, ‘Oxynizer’ >
This device was designed to solve the problem of difficulty in supplying oxygen in developing countries due to high installation and maintenance costs. The device was designed to create concentrated oxygen to supply it to a patient in urgent need using an air pump for bicycles, which should be found more easily than a medical oxygen tank.
Professor Sangmin Bae said, “This device creates oxygen using a bicycle air pump and supplies it to patients, and it can separate water vapor and nitrogen in the air using silica gel and zeolite, which are the main materials of the filter, to supply oxygen with a concentration of up to 50%.” “In addition, the filter can be heated and reused after 120 hours of use, so it has the advantage of being able to be used semi-permanently,” he emphasized.
< Photo 4. A photo of Professor Sangmin Bae’s students’ award-winning achievement, ‘Oxynizer’ >
The results of the self-research derived from the KAIST Industrial Design Department class were selected as a world-class award winner and exhibition piece in competition with excellent universities around the world, once again proving the global competitiveness of the KAIST Industrial Design Department.
2024.10.16 View 1140