Rainbow Robotics: Samsung’s Bid to Win the Robot Race

Incorporating robots into our everyday lives was just a dream until recently, and now, we see advancements that have robots mirroring us in many different ways. The humanoid robot race is here, and a new player is Samsung, who just became the largest shareholder in Rainbow Robotics.

Robot champions

Rainbow Robotics was founded in 2011 by researchers who had been working on the humanoid robot “Hubo” since the early 2000s at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology. At the same time, the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima in the same year led to the DARPA Robotics Challenge in response to the need for quick disaster relief solutions.

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This tournament ran from 2012 to 2015, during which robots competed in various disaster response scenarios worldwide. It also allowed the field to speed up the development towards faster responses during emergencies. Rainbow Robotics’ “Hubo” won the grand final and the prize of $2 million. 

Since then, progress has been constant, but the race isn’t just for researchers. Global tech giants, like Tesla with Optimus, now lead the charge. But former champions at Rainbow Robotics haven’t been slacking off, either. Their robots, for example, participated in the torch relay during the 2018 Winter Olympics and served as TV anchors during the pandemic.

Samsung’s stake

Fellow South Korean company and tech giant Samsung has taken note of Rainbow Robotics. In 2023, they acquired a 14.7% stake with an option they are exercising now to become the largest shareholders. Samsung plans to help the robotics company by implementing its AIs to develop better robots. This will also broaden its scope by expanding to the global market.

To strengthen cooperation, Samsung opened a Future Robotics Office led by Dr. Jun-Ho Oh, a founding member of Rainbow Robotics. Dr. Jun-Ho had already given a speech at the Innovate Korea event in 2024, where he shared the same vision on AI. He described how, according to him, “robots are already ready to do anything,” but they cannot do it alone, and AI must take that role.

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Photo credit: The feature image is owned by Rainbow Robotics and has been provided for press usage.
Sources: US Department of Defense / Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology / Jie Ye-eun (Korea Herald)