logo

On September 3rd, 2024, NAVER LABS CEO Seok Sang-ok delivered a keynote speech under the theme of “NAVER’s Original SW Methodology for the Future of Robots and Humans” at the “Tech & Future Insight Concert” organized by the Institute for Information & Communication Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP), where ICT experts from academia, industry, and research attended. During the keynote, Seok underscored how NAVER’s competitiveness in software technology is playing a crucial role in the field of robotics, and suggested a vision for the popularization of SDx-based robots.

Flexible technological innovation made possible through software

​

​

SDx (Software Defined Everything) refers to the technological paradigm where software controls various functions of a robot, transcending physical limitations. In the past, functions in devices were determined by their hardware, but now that they can be controlled by software, these functions can easily be updated and their services have become scalable without being hindered by their hardware. A classic example of this would be new features and services being added to a laptop or software after an update.

NAVER’s SDx competitiveness leads robot technology

NAVER LABS, in addition to focusing on the hardware as any robotics company would, has always researched future technologies that have software-based original perspectives added to them. Among those, NAVER excels in the field of “Cloud Robotics” where the cloud plays the role of the robot’s brain. NAVER was able to develop the multi-robot intelligence system “ARC” based on cloud robotics, and applied it to NAVER’s 1784 headquarters. This allowed for robots and software programs that are connected to the cloud to be effectively managed, so they could be simultaneously controlled or updated.

NAVER LABS is also conducting research on the synergy between AI and digital twin technology, which will allow robots to accurately locate themselves and move around autonomously in urban settings as well as in indoor settings without GPS. In March 2024, NAVER LABS unveiled “ARC mind” – the world’s first web platform-based OS for robots that allows developers all over the world to easily develop robot services.

The future of robot technology led by SDx

New technologies like AI, robots, and autonomous driving are now closer to our daily lives than ever before, blurring the boundary between the real world and the digital world. In such a wave of change, NAVER LAB’s new robot technologies may seem novel and unfamiliar at first, but this is something NAVER knows and does best – making users’ lives more convenient through our software technologies and services. Going forward, NAVER LABS will continue to lead the future of robot technology by pursuing original research centered around software ●