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KAIST and NVIDIA Launch Human Physical AI NVAITC
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.”
2026.07.26 View 2103 -
KAIST-NVIDIA Establish Asia's First AI Joint Research Lab, Accelerating Korea's AI Innovation
KAIST and NVIDIA establish Asia's first AI joint research lab between NVIDIA and a university to advance next-generation agentic AI tailored to the Korean language and domestic industries.
KAIST (President Choongsik Bae) announced on July 24 that it will establish the NVIDIA-KAIST Joint AI Research Lab at the Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI with the global AI computing giant NVIDIA. The two organizations will conduct joint research on next-generation core AI technologies.
"This collaboration marks the starting point of a strategic partnership between KAIST and NVIDIA that combines world-class AI research talent with cutting-edge AI infrastructure," said President Choongsik Bae. “We will build Korea's leading global AI research hub and lead the way in developing next-generation foundational AI technologies and cultivating world-class AI talent."
Through this partnership, KAIST and NVIDIA will build a joint research framework covering agentic AI models and systems specialized for the Korean language and Korean industries. The two organizations will build a long-term research collaboration framework to develop foundational AI technologies for Korea, cultivate global talent, and strengthen industrial competitiveness.
The NVIDIA-KAIST AI Joint Research Lab, to be established at the Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI, will operate as a global research hub developing agentic AI models and AI agent systems tailored to Korea's language and industrial needs.
The two organizations plan to combine NVIDIA’s full-stack AI technologies and Nemotron open models, and the computing infrastructure of local NVIDIA Cloud Partners with the world-class scientific talent at KAIST.
The $300 million collaboration will proceed over an initial five-year period, including $50 million per year in compute contributions. Researchers participating in the joint lab will gain access to the latest NVIDIA AI computing infrastructure through local NVIDIA Cloud Partners.
The joint lab will fund at least 10 KAIST researchers annually and provide each with internship opportunities at NVIDIA. In addition, NVIDIA plans to hire exceptional Korean researchers for full-time positions. Together, these efforts will create stronger pathways for Korea's top AI talent to pursue ambitious research, build long-term careers, and deepen global collaboration between academia and industry.
The joint lab will be led by Dr. Hyunwoo Kim, currently at NVIDIA, who will join the Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI as a professor next month. Dr. Kim will set the lab's research direction and oversee collaboration between local and international researchers.
"Korea is home to leading AI researchers and has one of the world's most advanced technology ecosystems," said Bill Dally, chief scientist and senior vice president of research at NVIDIA. "The NVIDIA-KAIST AI Joint Research Lab will provide a foundation for pioneering the next frontier of AI research and accelerating the development of AI models and agent systems for Korea’s industries, language, and future"
Dr. Hyunwoo Kim, incoming faculty member at the KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI, who will serve as head of the joint NVIDIA-KAIST lab upon joining KAIST, said,
“AI research is entering a new era — one that requires frontier talent, large-scale infrastructure and deep collaboration across academia and industry.” He added, “Together, NVIDIA and KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI will pursue ambitious work that helps Korea attract and retain top AI scientists while building lasting ties with NVIDIA's global research organization.”
Song Chong, Head of the KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI, said, "This joint lab is a new industry-academia collaboration model that combines world-class research talent, AI infrastructure, and the research capabilities of a global company." He added, "We will develop core agentic AI technologies specialized for the Korean language and Korean industries and build an ecosystem where outstanding researchers can carry out world-class research from within Korea."
Check out NVIDIA's official blog post on this historic partnership here.
2026.07.24 View 3542 -
KAIST Welcomes NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s Cooperation Initiative “Strengthening Collaboration in AI and Robotics Innovation”
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced its strong support for the meeting between Korean President Jae-myung Lee and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang on October 31, where both sides discussed strategies to advance Korea’s AI ecosystem.
KAIST stated that the meeting marks “a significant turning point for Korea’s AI innovation and global cooperation.” During the discussion, NVIDIA, a global leader in artificial intelligence, explored partnership opportunities with the Korean government to realize its vision of becoming one of the “Top Three AI Nations” and achieving an “AI-based Society.”
NVIDIA also unveiled plans to expand Korea’s AI computing infrastructure by introducing more than 260,000 of its latest GPUs, while strengthening technology cooperation to meet both public and private sector AI demand.
The meeting covered a wide range of potential collaborations, including:
Building advanced AI infrastructure, joint research and technology cooperation in physical AI (AI in robotics, autonomous systems, and manufacturing), and
expanding AI talent development and startup support programs.
At the APEC CEO Summit, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said, “NVIDIA’s goal is not only to provide hardware to Korea, but to help build a sustainable AI ecosystem. And we will work closely with AI researchers in Korea universities, amazing university like KAIST, startups, the government, and research institutions to become the AI Frontier.”
He further emphasized that, “The evolution of AI will inevitably converge with robotics. Realizing autonomous robots and robotic factories that can work alongside humans represents the next stage and ultimate goal of AI technology.”
As Korea’s leading AI research institution, KAIST has long collaborated with government and industry partners in key areas such as AI semiconductors, autonomous driving, robotics, digital twins, and quantum computing.
Building on this dialogue, KAIST plans to further strengthen its partnership with NVIDIA and major domestic industries through next-generation AI semiconductor and HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) research, physical AI applications in robotics and autonomous systems, hands-on AI education and talent development, and global open innovation through academia–industry joint research.
KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee stated: “AI is the core driver of national competitiveness. Jensen Huang’s visit represents a symbolic milestone as Korea emerges as a global leader in AI.” He added: “Huang’s vision of integrating AI and robotics aligns perfectly with KAIST’s research direction. KAIST will continue to work closely with NVIDIA to build an AI innovation ecosystem that benefits humanity.”
Following CEO Huang’s proposal, KAIST will further concretize its collaboration with NVIDIA and expand partnerships with both global enterprises and domestic industries.
Through these efforts, KAIST aims to advance AI research clusters, develop next-generation AI computing platforms, nurture AI professionals, and foster a vibrant startup ecosystem, contributing continuously to Korea’s global AI competitiveness.
2025.11.03 View 4592 -
Yuji Roh Awarded 2022 Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship
KAIST PhD candidate Yuji Roh of the School of Electrical Engineering (advisor: Prof. Steven Euijong Whang) was selected as a recipient of the 2022 Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship.
< KAIST PhD candidate Yuji Roh (advisor: Prof. Steven Euijong Whang) >
The Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship is a scholarship program that recognizes outstanding graduate students for their exceptional and innovative research in areas relevant to computer science and related fields. This year, 36 people from around the world received the fellowship, and Yuji Roh from KAIST EE is the only recipient from universities in Korea. Each selected fellow will receive a $10,000 scholarship and an opportunity to intern at Microsoft under the guidance of an experienced researcher.
Yuji Roh was named a fellow in the field of “Machine Learning” for her outstanding achievements in Trustworthy AI. Her research highlights include designing a state-of-the-art fair training framework using batch selection and developing novel algorithms for both fair and robust training. Her works have been presented at the top machine learning conferences ICML, ICLR, and NeurIPS among others. She also co-presented a tutorial on Trustworthy AI at the top data mining conference ACM SIGKDD. She is currently interning at the NVIDIA Research AI Algorithms Group developing large-scale real-world fair AI frameworks.
The list of fellowship recipients and the interview videos are displayed on the Microsoft webpage and Youtube.
The list of recipients: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/academic-program/phd-fellowship/2022-recipients/
Interview (Global): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Q-XwOOoJc
Interview (Asia): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwq3R1XU8UE
[Highlighted research achievements by Yuji Roh: Fair batch selection framework]
[Highlighted research achievements by Yuji Roh: Fair and robust training framework]
2022.10.28 View 26439