As we have reported many times in the past here on JAPUNDIT (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here), Japan has jumped into robotics with a fervor that is at once both impressive and unsettling.

Just the other day, there was a new report that the world’s first “Robo Cafe” has been opened in Osaka, Japan, where guests can enjoy light meals and drink, as they play with the various robots that “live” there.

Korea to challenge Japan’s robo supremacy
Now we get word that Korea has decided they will not Japan’s current lead in robotics technology go unchallenged. (Why am I not surprised at this. . ?)

According to a report at the Personal Tech Pipeline, Korea advancing its robotic industry on two application fronts: defense and education.

On the defense front, Korea plans to develop a mobile combat, “horse-like” robot that would fight alongside human soldiers on the battlefield, according to the Korea Times. Officials heading the project have requested 33.4 billion won ($32.4 million) in funding between 2006 and 2011, according to the report.

“The robot will have six or eight extendable legs with wheels allowing it to move like an insect over uneven terrain,” according to the report. “The robot will be armed with various weapons and will operate both by remote control and its own artificial intelligence system.”

(The way the current thinking seems to be going in Korea, one is left to wonder which side AI developers will program Robot Grunt to shoot at. . .)

Separately, the Korea Advanced Intelligent Robot Association (KAIRA) said that it has begun testing a robot that can help teach English to younger students, according to a report from the JoongAng Daily news.

KAIRA, part of the Ministry of Information and Communications, said the robots can perform basic tasks such as reading to children and teaching them to pronounce certain words, according to the report. The association plans to add more complex teaching functions like mathematics for older students, it added.

Korea portion of this story via The Raw Feed.