Seoul AI Foundation, robot agency team up on physical AI services
Summary
The Seoul AI Foundation and the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement signed an agreement at Coex in Seoul on Oct. 7 to develop AI and robotics projects addressing city needs. The partnership will share information and experts, identify joint projects, and cooperate on exhibitions, forums and global networks. The foundation said the work will begin with urban problems and citizens’ needs, then move from technology testing to on-site use and expansion of successful services. The organizations have previously collaborated on medical and welfare robots, educational robots and smart city policy.
Key Facts
- The memorandum of understanding was signed during Smart Life Week 2026, an AI and smart city exhibition hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
- Seoul AI Foundation Chairman Kim Man-gi and KIRIA President Cho Young-hoon attended the signing.
- The Seoul AI Foundation is a city-funded body that develops AI policies and services for Seoul.
- KIRIA operates under the industry ministry to promote the country’s robot industry.
- The organizations have previously exchanged smart city policies and experts, supplied educational robots, and worked on robots for medical and welfare settings.
Seoul AI Foundation Chairman Kim Man-gi, left, and Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement President Cho Young-hoon sign a memorandum of understanding on artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics cooperation at Coex in southern Seoul, Oct. 7. Courtesy of Seoul AI Foundation
The Seoul AI Foundation has signed an agreement with the state-run Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement (KIRIA) to develop joint projects that combine artificial intelligence and robotics to address the city’s needs, the foundation said Friday.
The memorandum of understanding was signed Oct. 7 at Smart Life Week 2026, an artificial intelligence (AI) and smart city exhibition hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government at Coex in southern Seoul. Seoul AI Foundation Chairman Kim Man-gi and KIRIA President Cho Young-hoon attended the signing.
The Seoul AI Foundation is a city-funded body that develops AI policies and services for Seoul. KIRIA operates under the industry ministry to promote the country’s robot industry.
The agreement comes as AI expands into what is known as physical AI, in which AI systems control robots and other machines that operate in the real world.
Under the agreement, the two organizations will share information and experts on AI and robot policy, technology and industry. They will also identify and carry out joint projects and cooperate on exhibitions, forums and global networks in Korea and abroad.
The foundation said the partnership will start from Seoul’s actual urban problems and citizens’ needs rather than from the technologies on offer. It aims to build a process that runs from testing technologies to putting them into use on site and expanding successful services.
The two organizations have previously worked together on using robots in medical and welfare settings, supplying educational robots and exchanging smart city policies and experts.
“AI is quickly moving beyond the digital space into the era of physical AI, where it works in the real world by combining with robots,” Kim said. “Through this agreement, we will develop AI and robot services that citizens can feel in their daily lives.”
“The convergence of AI and robot technology is spreading beyond industrial sites into citizens’ daily lives and cities as a whole,” Cho said.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
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