Pukyong National University

FR Lab led by Prof. Suh Jin-Ho at Mechanical System Engineering Dept.

Concentrating on the technology commercialization, such as the development of field robots

△ Prof. Suh Jin-Ho ⓒPhoto Lee Sung-Jae (PR Team)

A laboratory, which plays a key role in technology development related to robots, which is emerging as one of the core technologies in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, is currently attracting public attention.

It is the 'Field Robotics Lab' of Pukyong National University's Engineering College, led by Professor Suh Jin-Ho (Dept. of Mechanical System Engineering).

Professor Suh's research team recently drew attention as it was selected as the lead organization for the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' 'Smart Technology Development Project for Distribution of Fresh Marine Products 2021'. The estimated cost of the project is up to 12.1 billion won over five years.

Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) are also a keyword in the 'Technology Development of a Smart Automated Production System’, a task being promoted by this project. It is to develop a smart automated production system by applying robots and AI to the field of seafood processing, a traditional labor-intensive industry.

Accordingly, the research team of 

Professor Suh started to develop an automation system for production core processes △such as pretreatment, selection, processing, and packaging for marine products, △an intelligent information-based data management and smart inspection system, and △an autonomous recognition smart process control system especially for seaweed, oysters, and fish cakes.

Professor Suh said, "I think commercialization is one of the most important purposes of research. I am focusing on research to make robots used in the field, not laboratory robots, thinking that technology that can become a product is the best, not the best technology becomes a product."

His will is clearly showed in his major and research field. His major is field (disaster/marine) robot development, focusing on various robot mechanisms and system integration control. Professor Suh's research areas include technology development of disaster robotics, autonomous underwater robotics and smart farming technologies, and source/core technology of field robots.

Field robots are robots in a wide range of the fields with a good future, excluding home and general service robots. The robots that can be mainly used in actual field environments in national defense, agriculture and social safety, etc. It is a robot that does things that people cannot or is difficult to do, and that works by itself in extreme environments such as disaster environments.

Professor Suh's work stands a giant in the field robotics sector. He served as the Directive Research Engineer and the Head of the Safety Robot Project at Korea Institute of Robotics & Technology Convergence (KIRO). He Currently serves as the Professor of Mechanical System Engineering Department at Pukyong National University. Prior to this, he was a research member in the team POSROBOT at POSCO and worked as an affiliated professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH), served Promoting Director of IT Robots at the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP).

Based on his capabilities, he not only developed the project related to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries as described above, but also pushing ahead with the △technology of the detective robots for investigating in narrow space (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy), △technology development for field use support of disaster safety robots (Ministry of the Interior and Safety), and △operation for the remote control mobile measuring robots and technology development (Ministry of Science and Technology) and △development of underwater glider launching/retrival apparatus (Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries) as major government projects related to robots.

Professor Suh said, "I think it is very important to bring support projects suitable for the lab in order to create an environment where students can develop their research capabilities and concentrate on their research. It seems to have achieved good results because everyone took a strategic approach, such as analyzing and supporting assignments as if analyzing the intention of the exam."

Professor Suh is brimming over with enthusiasm for managing laboratory and leading research results. As the slogan of his laboratory, he is applying with the slogan of 'Sail towards our goal with teamwork and passion'. In addition to providing research funding, the professor encourages students to attend conferences, seminars, and education as much as possible, regardless of domestic or overseas. As long as the students can develop their research skills, the professor will find a place and position so that the students can do research in other university labs.

He said, "I actually hope engineers to start their own business using ideas and technology rather than get a job in a company. Even in my lab, I always emphasize that students develop the ability to make products that can be used in the field."

Professor Suh has founded PaxTech, a teachers' start-up company, and serves as the CEO since last year. The company is a one-man company that manufactures and sells sensors used in the marine field. The main product is a sensor that attaches to fish and collects various information such as movement route, and marine-related research institutes are the main customers. While the existing products on the market are imported from abroad and are expensive, Professor Suh's products are showing excellent performance at half the price, as a result, demand is increasing. In the future, he is working hard to commercialize his products and commercialize the R&D results he has carried out and grow it into a professional service robot technology company in the flatform of ‘Made-to-order (Pre-order) production’.

Professor Suh is actively engaged in external activities as well as education and research at the university. There are many places that ask about his research capabilities, knowledge, and experience in the field of robotics.

He currently serves as a member of Disaster and Safety R&D Division at the Ministry of Public Administration and Security (MOIS), the chief member of the Robot Subcommittee of the Industrial Technology Protection Committee under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), a member of Subcommittee of Robots in the Committee of Technology Competitiveness Evaluation at the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), a member of Promotion Committee of Interagencies-led Correspondence Program against Hazard Gas at the Korean National Police Agency, a technical expert at the Korea Strategic Trade Institute including an expert in the ICT convergence expert committee of the Presidential Advisory Council on S&T at the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) which is an advisory body under direct presidential control.

He also stands out as a member of a large number of academies and research institutes as his careers show, he serves as a vice president of the Korean Society for Power System Engineering (KSPSE) as well as committees of government ministries currently, he is also a member of board of directors in Korean Marine Robot Technology Society (KMRTS) under the Korean Society of Ocean Engineers (KSOE), Chairman of Disaster and Safety Robots Research Society in the Korea Robotics Society (KROS), Chairman at Robot Control Automation Sector of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering (KSPE), a non-permanent member at the Korea Institute of Robotics & Technology Convergence (KIRO), a member of the Smart Robot Standards Forum under the Korea Association of Robot Industry.

He said, "I am trying to develop technology that keeps pace with the times, and I plan to conduct research, support, and run this laboratory so that students working here can have confidence in a potential future of their research field. Through practical industry-university cooperation that can communicate with the field, I want to actively work on technology transfer and contribute to the development of the university." <Pukyong Today>