Newswise — The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) introduced {that a} analysis crew led by Dr. Sona Kwak and Dr. Yoonseop Lim at the Center for Intelligence and Interaction Research Center received the Grand Prize in the Demonstration class for its outdoor-friendly modular robotic furnishings system, OnOBOT, at the Robot Design Competition held throughout the International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication 2025 (RO-MAN 2025) in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, from August 25 to 29, 2025.
RO-MAN is one among the world’s main conferences in human-robot interplay, bringing collectively prime analysis establishments from round the globe to share their newest developments. This yr’s Robot Design Competition included three classes – Context Design, Technical Design, and Demonstration. KIST’s analysis crew took the Grand Prize in the Demonstration class, standing out amongst world rivals corresponding to Honda Research EU and the University of Auckland. The crew’s modular robotic furnishings system, OnOBOT, designed to reinforce human-nature interplay in cell residing environments, was acknowledged internationally for its innovation.
OnOBOT builds on the current modular robotic furnishings, oOoBOT-originally designed for ultra-compact indoor spaces-and expands it right into a system for Tiny Houses on Wheels (THoW) that connects indoor and outside residing. It consists of modular items, together with a desk, chair, storage, cart, parasol, hammock, and lamp, combining mobility with transformability. Building on oOoBOT’s context-awareness and automation, OnOBOT interacts with pure components and adapts to its environment. Outdoors, the parasol and lamp modules reply to daylight, moonlight, and starlight, remodeling into preparations suited to every setting and offering customers with a snug, immersive expertise in nature. Indoors, holographic movies recreate the sensation of nature-such as the sea, sundown, and sky-through refined shifts in mild, bringing a pure ambiance into compact areas. Each module folds or expands to maximise house effectivity, making OnOBOT sensible for small environments corresponding to campers and cell houses.
With outside leisure actions corresponding to tenting, glamping, and caravanning gaining recognition, OnOBOT presents a robotic furnishings resolution that strikes freely between indoor and outside areas, supporting each comfort and emotional well-being. Each modular unit can join and broaden into an IoT-based good residence system, with potential purposes throughout tourism, leisure, and eco-friendly housing industries. Beyond comfort, these applied sciences are anticipated to contribute to constructing sustainable residing environments and producing new industrial worth.
“OnOBOT represents a new residential solution based on human-nature interaction, helping users experience nature more deeply in their daily lives and find emotional balance. It will open new possibilities for eco-friendly living as well as the tourism and leisure sectors.” stated Dr. Sona Kwak, the undertaking lead. Dr. Changhee Seo added, “We are continuing our research to showcase OnOBOT’s innovation on the international stage at CES 2026. As we move toward commercialization, our focus will be on verifying durability and enhancing the user experience.”
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KIST was established in 1966 as the first government-funded analysis institute in Korea. KIST now strives to resolve nationwide and social challenges and safe development engines by main and revolutionary analysis. For extra data, please go to KIST’s web site at https://www.kist.re.kr/eng/index.do
This analysis was supported by the Robot Industry Technology Development Project (2MRF150) and the Design Innovation Capacity Enhancement Project (2MRF850) of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).