A global forum was held to discuss the future of “Physical AI,” a technology that enables artificial intelligence to perceive, understand, and act in the real world through the physical embodiment of robots and machines. Experts from industry, academia, and research institutions in Korea and abroad gathered to share the latest technological developments in humanoid robotics and Physical AI and explore future directions for the industrial ecosystem.

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM, President Seog-Hyeon Ryu) hosted the 2026 Global Forum on Mechanical Engineering beginning at 1:30 p.m. on September 7 (Monday) at the Science and Technology Convention Center in Seoul under the theme “Robotics Shaping Tomorrow's Industrial Ecosystem with Physical AI.”

Held in celebration of KIMM’s 50th anniversary, the forum was organized to examine the potential of Physical AI, which is rapidly expanding across industries and everyday life, including manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, and healthcare, while exploring development strategies for Korea’s robotics and mechanical engineering industries. In addition to expert presentations, the event featured a humanoid robot demonstration and exhibitions of advanced research achievements, and was also livestreamed online.

KAIROS, a Korean AI humanoid robot that made its debut at KIMM’s 50th anniversary ceremony in April as V0.5, returned five months later in a more advanced V0.7 version. KAIROS, a next-generation AI humanoid robot being developed as part of Korea’s national strategic technology project, K-Moonshot, demonstrated basic walking, handshakes, and hand-waving at its first public appearance. At this year’s forum, the research team showcased KAIROS performing a wide range of full-body motions, including movements inspired by traditional Korean mask dance and other dynamic movements, highlighting further advances in its walking and posture-control capabilities.

KAIROS is a Korean AI humanoid robot designed to perceive its surroundings and perform mobility, manipulation, and interactive tasks using visual and tactile sensors and artificial intelligence. Since its first public unveiling, KIMM has continued to advance KAIROS’s walking, posture control, and full-body motion capabilities. The institute plans to expand its applications to manufacturing automation, disaster response, safety and defense, as well as household assistance and caregiving.

Physical AI refers to technologies that integrate artificial intelligence into robots and machines, enabling them to directly perceive their surroundings, make decisions, and take action. Its applications are rapidly expanding beyond collaborative robots in manufacturing to fields closely connected to everyday life, including logistics, agriculture, disaster response, defense, and healthcare.

The keynote address was delivered by Professor Byoung-Tak Zhang of Seoul National University under the title “Humanoid AI: From Generative AI to Embodied Intelligence.” Professor Zhang introduced artificial intelligence technologies that enable humanoid robots to understand diverse environments and tasks and make autonomous decisions, while presenting future directions for the development of humanoid AI.

In the following presentation, Min-Pyo Kim, CEO of Doosan Robotics, spoke on “The Present and Future of Physical AI at Doosan Robotics,” presenting robotic technologies used in industrial settings and the future outlook for Physical AI. KIMM President Seog-Hyeon Ryu then presented “From Machines to Intelligence: KIMM’s Journey into Physical AI,” outlining a future in which machines evolve into intelligent systems capable of independently perceiving, reasoning, acting, and learning. He also introduced KIMM’s research vision for expanding Physical AI across robotics, manufacturing, energy, environmental technologies, and digital engineering.

Alongside the forum, KIMM operated an AI Robotics Pavilion and a Five Flagship Brands Pavilion at the venue to showcase its major research achievements. The AI Robotics Pavilion featured KAIROS, KIMM’s Korean AI humanoid robot designed to connect industrial applications with everyday life, as well as key KAIROS components such as high-efficiency actuators and sensory systems. The pavilion also showcased autonomous cooperative delivery robots in which drones and ground robots work together to transport goods across land, sea, and air; autonomous orchard monitoring robots that navigate open-field orchards to precisely detect and monitor pests and diseases; last-mile delivery robots capable of seamlessly traveling inside and outside buildings by interfacing with shared entrances and elevators; and smart robotic prosthetic hands and legs that assist grasping and walking by responding to users’ intentions and movements.

At the Five Flagship Brands Pavilion, KIMM showcased KAIROS, MANUX, KHEATUP, Air Five, and KIMM Cyber Labs, which were selected in celebration of the institute’s 50th anniversary and are being developed as KIMM’s representative research brands. The exhibition highlighted KIMM’s flagship research achievements, including an AI humanoid robot that interacts with people and learns autonomously; advanced manufacturing equipment based on domestically developed CNC technologies; a high-temperature heat pump system that utilizes industrial waste heat; air-cleaning technologies that simultaneously reduce greenhouse gases, hazardous gases, and fine particles emitted during semiconductor manufacturing processes; and an AI-based virtual engineering platform that supports the entire engineering lifecycle from design to operation.

Through the forum, KIMM plans to strengthen collaboration among industry, academia, and research institutions in the fields of robotics and Physical AI and accelerate the commercialization of its research achievements. The institute also expects these efforts to enhance the technological competitiveness of domestically developed robots and manufacturing equipment, reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, and lower product development costs for small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies.

KIMM President Seog-Hyeon Ryu stated, “Physical AI is a key technology that combines artificial intelligence with robotics and mechanical engineering to address real-world challenges not only in manufacturing, but also in agriculture, logistics, healthcare, and caregiving. We hope this forum will provide an opportunity to share the future direction of Physical AI technologies in Korea and strengthen the global competitiveness of the nation’s robotics industry. KIMM will continue to advance Physical AI technologies, including humanoid robots and core robotic components, while actively promoting the industrial deployment and broader adoption of our five flagship research brands.”

KIMM has continued to host the Global Forum on Mechanical Engineering, bringing together experts from industry, academia, and research institutions in Korea and abroad to examine major issues in mechanical engineering and discuss future development directions. Now in its 13th edition, this year’s forum was held in celebration of KIMM’s 50th anniversary to explore how robotics and Physical AI are reshaping industries and identify new growth directions for Korea’s mechanical engineering sector.

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The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) is a non-profit government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Since its foundation in 1976, KIMM is contributing to economic growth of the nation by performing R&D on key technologies in machinery and materials, conducting reliability test evaluation, and commercializing the developed products and technologies.