Congress of martial arts for robots

To promote taekwondo traditional martial arts and robot manufacturing technology, Korea will hold a martial arts tournament for robots in October.

Two robots fight martial arts in Korea.Photo: Korea Times .

AFP reported the tournament in the framework of the International Conference and Exhibition on Robot Technology in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province. Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy is the tournament organizer.

In each game, two robots are programmed to oppose each other. Machine fighters track the opponent's movements with sensors throughout the body. They punch, kick, pull, push and avoid blows based on the data provided by the sensors. Each match is divided into three rounds, each round lasts three minutes. Robots compete under the supervision of three referees.

"One of the goals of the competition is to promote taekwondo by giving high-tech robots a demonstration of martial arts skills," an official with the Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy told AFP.

Taekwondo, traditional Korean martial arts, has become popular all over the world in recent years. It became an official content at the 2000 Olympics.

"The level of efficiency in the boxers' competition will gradually improve over time," the Korea Times quoted Roh Sung-Su, a scientist at the Korea Institute of Advanced Science and Technology.

The Korean Institute of Advanced Science and Technology will provide robots for the competition. They are programmed by students in universities.

The martial arts competition for robots in Korea has more than 200 awards totaling 180 million won (US $ 147,000). Of course, those who build winning robots will receive prizes and money, not machine fighters.

In addition to martial arts competitions, the Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy also hosts 9 other contests for robots in the International Robot Technology Conference and Exhibition, such as kicking and running. South Korea expects about 4,000 teams to participate in the competitions.