KAIST

A new era of Physical AI is taking shape, enabling wearable robots and humanoids to understand and predict human movement and achieve more precise control. KAIST, which possesses world-class research capabilities in wearable robotics, and NVIDIA will collaborate to develop a Human Motion Foundation Model that enables AI to learn human movement and physical intelligence.

KAIST, led by President Choongsik Bae, announced on July 25 that it will establish a NVIDIA AI Technology Center (NVAITC) with NVIDIA to advance collaborative research in Physical AI.

As the Korean government advances Physical AI as a key national initiative for the country’s future, the collaboration aims to secure core technologies for next-generation Physical AI by combining KAIST’s human-centered robotics technologies and real-world human motion data with NVIDIA AI technologies and global research network.

The collaboration will be carried out through the establishment of the Human Physical AI NVAITC by the KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering and NVIDIA. The Human Physical AI Research Center at the KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering will serve as the core research hub for the NVAITC . Building on this foundation, the two organizations plan to progressively expand the scope of their collaboration across the full spectrum of Physical AI, including wearable robots, humanoids, digital twins, and manufacturing.

“Competitiveness in the era of Physical AI will depend not simply on AI itself, but on domain-specific technologies and data grounded in a deep understanding of humans and robots,” said KAIST President Choongsik Bae. “By combining KAIST’s accumulated expertise in human-centered research with NVIDIA’s world-leading AI infrastructure and physical AI technologies, we will realize Physical AI that better understands and supports people and develop KAIST into a global hub leading Physical AI research and industry beyond Korea.”

The Human Physical AI Research Center was established around the laboratories of Professor Kyoungchul Kong, a leading researcher in wearable robotics, and Professor Jung Kim, a leading researcher in biorobotics. Professors Kim and Kong serve as co-directors of the Center.

The Center conducts research to understand how humans move, exert force, and maintain balance in real-world environments and to reproduce these capabilities through AI and robotics. In particular, the large-scale human motion data and gait and movement control technologies accumulated through wearable robotics research are regarded as a critical foundation for developing human-centered Physical AI.

Co-director Professor Kyoungchul Kong is a world-renowned researcher in wearable robotics who has developed robotic technologies for gait assistance and rehabilitation. Through Angel Robotics, a company he founded, he has also led the commercialization of wearable robotics by translating research outcomes into real-world products and services. Through the NVAITC , Professor Kong will lead the development of the Human Motion Foundation Model based on the human motion data and robotic control technologies accumulated by his research team.

On NVIDIA’s side, Charles Cheung, Senior Manager at the NVIDIA AI Technology Center (NVAITC), will participate by providing expert technical consultation and developer support. The NVAITC will also operate research and educational programs using NVIDIA Omniverse and digital twin platforms.

“The KAIST Human Physical AI Research Center has world-class human motion data and research capabilities in wearable robotics,” said Charles Cheung. “This research, which seeks to reproduce human movement through AI, is expected to open new possibilities for Physical AI.”

To ensure the systematic operation of the collaborative research, the two organizations will establish a Steering Committee and review research goals and progress every six months. They also plan to hold an annual international symposium that will bring together researchers from Korea and abroad to share the latest research outcomes and industry trends in Physical AI.

A Student Ambassador Program will also be offered to KAIST students. Through the program, NVIDIA experts will provide lectures and regular office hours and carry out projects with participating students.

The first cohort is expected to consist of five to 10 students. Participants will receive training focused on NVIDIA Omniverse and digital twin technologies and will be awarded certificates upon completion of the program.

The primary objective of the first phase of the collaborative research is to develop a Human Motion Foundation Model.

The Human Motion Foundation Model is a generative AI-based model trained on large-scale human motion data to understand, predict, and generate a wide range of human movements. It is expected to serve as a core enabling technology that will allow wearable robots and humanoids to more accurately identify users’ intentions and movements and respond more naturally.

The technologies developed through the NVAITC are expected to be applied not only to wearable robots that support the rehabilitation and daily lives of people with gait impairments, but also to humanoids that work alongside humans, human movement assessment, and digital healthcare.

Ultimately, the researchers aim to explain from an AI perspective how humans plan movement and control their muscles and joints. Based on this understanding, they seek to create next-generation robotic systems that help people overcome gait impairments and expand human physical capabilities.

The collaboration is also significant because its impact is expected to extend beyond an individual research project and contribute to the broader Physical AI industrial ecosystem in Korea.

Co-directors Professors Jung Kim and Kyoungchul Kong are currently leading in a Deep Tech Scale-up Valley project in the field of Physical AI. By combining Angel Robotics’ experience in technology commercialization, KAIST’s capabilities in robotics, mechanical engineering, and AI, and NVIDIA’s AI technologies and global professional network, the collaboration is expected to support a broad range of activities spanning research and development, talent cultivation, startup support, and technology commercialization.

“This collaboration will provide an important opportunity to take AI research in the Department of Mechanical Engineering to the next level,” said Professor Hyung-Soon Park, Head of the KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering. “Centered around the Human Physical AI Research Center, we will expand Physical AI research into nationally strategic industries, including robotics and manufacturing.”