KAIST prof develops key tech for AR avatar

By Lee Min-hyung

A renowned mechanical engineering professor has developed a key technology that will provide a foothold for further research into augmented reality (AR) avatars, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) said Thursday.

KAIST professor Lee Sung-hee and his motion computing research team said the technology allows an AR avatar to imitate the movements of its user.

In a recent experiment, the research team said it succeeded in wirelessly controlling an avatar through AR technology. When a user sat in a chair, its avatar followed the same movement, according to the team.

Lee earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Seoul National University (SNU). He then studied aerospace engineering, receiving a master’s degree there.

Lee got his Ph.D. in computer science at the University of California Los Angeles.

The professor has since advanced his research career at various institutions, including the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology and KAIST.

In particular, he has served as associate professor at the Graduate School of Culture Technology at KAIST since 2013, heading the motion computing laboratory.

The research team has since had various academic achievements in areas such as digital media content, computer animation and humanoid robotics.

“By developing the AR technology, we can someday communicate with others far away as if they were in the same place,” Lee said, stressing that the technology will become a building block for further research on AR avatars.

He unveiled his team’s latest achievement at the International Symposium on Mixed & Augmented Reality last month.