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A network-based humanoid developed by a Korean scientist last month and so far only known as NBH-1 has now been christened Maru or Ara, the Ministry of Information and Communication said Tuesday. The names were decided in an online contest.
Maru, or ¡°pinnacle.¡± represents Korea¡¯s hope of achieving the world¡¯s best robotic technology, while Ara, a word derived from the Korean word ¡°Alda¡± meaning ¡°know¡±, indicates that the robot can recognize its master.
The robot developed by Dr. Yoo Beom-jae of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) is linked to a computer that serves as an external brain. The computer analyzes images and voices to control the robot through a wireless telecom network. Maru is smarter and lighter than ordinary robots, with embedded circuits increasing its motility.
Looking like a human with head, trunk, legs and arms, Maru is 150 centimeters tall and weighs 67 kilogram. It can walk forward and sideways at a top speed of 0.9 kilometers per hour and detect images, voices, movements and objects. When shaking hands with people, it measures their strength and reacts accordingly.
(Kim Hee-seop, fireman@chosun.com )
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