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Humanoid Robot Pilot PIBOT Wins Best Paper Award at the World’s Most Prestigious Robotics Magazine
< (From left of the award recipients) Ph. D candidate Sungjae Min, Ph. D candidate Gyuree Kang, Professor David Hyunchul Shim, Ph.D candidate Hyungjoo Kim >
KAIST announced on June 5th that a paper proposing an aircraft autonomous piloting framework based on the humanoid robot pilot ‘PIBOT,’ developed by a research team led by Professor David Hyunchul Shim of the School of Electrical Engineering, was selected as the Best Paper Award among the papers published in the IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine (IEEE RAM) in 2025.
< The proposed PIBOT system framework capable of piloting based on aviation manuals and voice communication without modifying existing aircraft >
This award is highly meaningful as it signifies that grassroots research based entirely on domestic, independent initiatives has been recognized as a world-class achievement in robotics. The award ceremony took place in Vienna, Austria, on June 4, 2026 (local time) during the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2026). IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine (IEEE RAM) is a prestigious academic magazine published by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS), under the umbrella of IEEE, the world's largest technical professional organization. It is well known for delivering the latest research achievements, industry trends, and tutorials in the fields of robotics and automation, widely conveying robot technologies applicable to actual industrial sites to researchers in both industry and academia. As of 2025, IEEE RAM recorded an Impact Factor (IF) of 7.1, holding the second highest impact among IEEE publications in the field of robotics. In particular, it presents the Best Paper Award to research that has a significant academic and industrial impact among the papers published after undergoing rigorous peer review. This study was selected as a Future Challenge Defense Technology Research and Development Project by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) in 2021 and was conducted based purely on domestic technology with support of approximately 5.7 billion won over five years. The research team received high praise for implementing Physical AI technology at an exceptionally high level, enabling a humanoid robot to systematically and adaptively perform complex tasks such as piloting aircraft based on artificial intelligence, going beyond simple walking or carrying items. Recently, humanoid robot technology has been developing rapidly in terms of athletic performance, such as tumbling or implementing complex movements. However, in the industrial sector, the applicability to actual industrial sites is drawing attention as a more critical factor. The pilot robot ‘PIBOT’ being developed by Professor David Hyunchul Shim's research team is designed to acquire specialized knowledge required for aircraft operation and to recognize and respond to actual flight situations in real time, going beyond simple repetitive tasks or logistics processing. Accordingly, it is evaluated as presenting a new direction for the utilization of humanoid robot technology, termed as Expert Physical AI.
< The research team's PIBOT sitting in an actual aircraft (KLA-100) and operating the instruments and control stick >
The research team has successfully completed Phase 1 of the research since the project launched in 2021, and since 2024, they have been developing Phase 2 of the pilot robot, which features a human-like physique and joint structure suitable for actual aircraft piloting. In addition, they are pursuing collaborative research with relevant organizations to expand and apply this technology to various mobile vehicle piloting fields, such as ground vehicles and ships, as well as aircraft.
< PIBOT performing piloting in an aircraft simulator device >
Professor David Hyunchul Shim said, “It is very meaningful that the pilot robot technology, proposed for the first time in the world by Korean researchers, has been recognized as a world-class research achievement thanks to the support of a large-scale national project. We will further develop our research in a direction where humanoid robots can help humans in real-world environments and safely operate complex systems.” In this study, PhD students Sungjae Min, Gyuree Kang, and Hyungjoo Kim participated as co-first authors, and Professor David Hyunchul Shim served as the corresponding author. The paper can be found through IEEE Xplore. ※ Paper Title: “Toward Fully Autonomous Aviation: PIBOT, a Humanoid Robot Pilot for Human-Centric Aircraft Cockpits”, Paper Links: https://doi.org/10.1109/MRA.2024.3505774, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10798973/ Meanwhile, this research was conducted with support from the Agency for Defense Development's Future Challenge Defense Technology Research and Development Project.
2026.06.05 View 438 -
KAIST Research Team Develops World’s First Humanoid Pilot, PIBOT
In the Spring of last year, the legendary, fictional pilot “Maverick” flew his plane in the film “Top Gun: Maverick” that drew crowds to theatres around the world. This year, the appearance of a humanoid pilot, PIBOT, has stolen the spotlight at KAIST.
< Photo 1. Humanoid pilot robot, PIBOT >
A KAIST research team has developed a humanoid robot that can understand manuals written in natural language and fly a plane on its own. The team also announced their plans to commercialize the humanoid pilot.
< Photo 2. PIBOT on flight simulator (view from above) >
The project was led by KAIST Professor David Hyunchul Shim, and was conducted as a joint research project with Professors Jaegul Choo, Kuk-Jin Yoon, and Min Jun Kim. The study was supported by Future Challenge Funding under the project title, “Development of Human-like Pilot Robot based on Natural Language Processing”. The team utilized AI and robotics technologies, and demonstrated that the humanoid could sit itself in a real cockpit and operate the various pieces of equipment without modifying any part of the aircraft. This is a fundamental difference that distinguishes this technology from existing autopilot functions or unmanned aircrafts.
< Photo 3. PIBOT operating a flight simulator (side) >
The KAIST team’s humanoid pilot is still under development but it can already remember Jeppeson charts from all around the world, which is impossible for human pilots to do, and fly without error. In particular, it can make use of recent ChatGPT technology to remember the full Quick Reference Handbook (QRF) and respond immediately to various situations, as well as calculate safe routes in real time based on the flight status of the aircraft, with emergency response times quicker than human pilots.
Furthermore, while existing robots usually carry out repeated motions in a fixed position, PIBOT can analyze the state of the cockpit as well as the situation outside the aircraft using an embedded camera. PIBOT can accurately control the various switches in the cockpit and, using high-precision control technology, it can accurately control its robotic arms and hands even during harsh turbulence.
< Photo 4. PIBOT on-board KLA-100, Korea’s first light aircraft >
The humanoid pilot is currently capable of carrying out all operations from starting the aircraft to taxiing, takeoff and landing, cruising, and cycling using a flight control simulator. The research team plans to use the humanoid pilot to fly a real-life light aircraft to verify its abilities. Prof. Shim explained, “Humanoid pilot robots do not require the modification of existing aircrafts and can be applied immediately to automated flights. They are therefore highly applicable and practical. We expect them to be applied into various other vehicles like cars and military trucks since they can control a wide range of equipment. They will particularly be particularly helpful in situations where military resources are severely depleted.”
This research was supported by Future Challenge Funding (total: 5.7 bn KRW) from the Agency for Defense Development. The project started in 2022 as a joint research project by Prof. David Hyunchul Shim (chief of research) from the KAIST School of Electrical Engineering (EE), Prof. Jaegul Choo from the Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI at KAIST, Prof. Kuk-Jin Yoon from the KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Prof. Min Jun Kim from the KAIST School of EE. The project is to be completed by 2026 and the involved researchers are also considering commercialization strategies for both military and civil use.
2023.08.03 View 24405 -
KAIST’s unmanned racing car to race in the Indy Autonomous Challenge @ CES 2023 as the only contender representing Asia
- Professor David Hyunchul Shim of the School of Electrical Engineering, is at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada with his students of the Unmanned Systems Research Group (USRG), participating in the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) @ CES as the only Asian team in the race.
Photo 1. Nine teams that competed at the first Indy Autonomous Challenge on October 23, 2021. (KAIST team is the right most team in the front row)
- The EE USRG team won the slot to race in the IAC @ CES 2023 rightly as the semifinals entree of the IAC @ CES 2022’ held in January of last year
- Through the partnership with Hyundai Motor Company, USRG received support to participate in the competition, and is to share the latest developments and trends of the technology with the company researchers
- With upgrades from last year, USRG is to race with a high-speed Indy racing car capable of driving up to 300 km/h and the technology developed in the process is to be used in further advancement of the high-speed autonomous vehicle technology of the future.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 5th that it will participate in the “Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) @ CES 2023”, an official event of the world's largest electronics and information technology exhibition held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada, of the United States from January 5th to 8th.
Photo 2. KAIST Racing Team participating in the Indy Autonomous Challenge @ CES 2023 (Team Leader: Sungwon Na, Team Members: Seongwoo Moon, Hyunwoo Nam, Chanhoe Ryu, Jaeyoung Kang)
“IAC @ CES 2023”, which is to be held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) on January 7, seeks to advance technology developed as the result of last year's competition to share the results of such advanced high-speed autonomous vehicle technology with the public.
This competition is the 4th competition following the “Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC)” held for the first time in Indianapolis, USA on October 23, 2021. At the IAC @ CES 2022 following the first IAC competition, the Unmmaned Systems Research Group (USRG) team led by Professor David Hyunchul Shim advanced to the semifinals out of a total of nine teams and won a spot to participate in CES 2023. As a result, the USRG comes into the challenge as the only Asian team to compete with other teams comprised of students and researchers of American and European backgrounds where the culture of motorsports is more deep-rooted.
For CES 2022, Professor David Hyunchul Shim’s research team was able to successfully develop a software that controlled the racing car to comply with the race flags and regulations while going up to 240 km/h all on its on.
Photo 3. KAIST Team’s vehicle on Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the IAC @ CES 2022
In the IAC @ CES 2023, the official racing vehicle AV-23, is a converted version of IL-15, the official racing car for Indy 500, fully automated while maintaining the optimal design for high-speed racing, and was upgraded from the last year’s competition taking up the highest speed up to 300 km/h.
This year’s competition, will develop on last year’s head-to-head autonomous racing and take the form of the single elimination tournament to have the cars overtake the others without any restrictions on the driving course, which would have the team that constantly drives at the fastest speed will win the competition.
Photo 4. KAIST Team’s vehicle overtaking the Italian team, PoliMOVE’s vehicle during one of the race in the IAC @ CES 2022
Professor Shim's team further developed on the CES 2022 certified software to fine tune the external recognition mechanisms and is now focused on precise positioning and driving control technology that factors into maintaining stability even when driving at high speed.
Professor Shim's research team won the Autonomous Driving Competition hosted by Hyundai Motor Company in 2021. Starting with this CES 2023 competition, they signed a partnership contract with Hyundai to receive financial support to participate in the CES competition and share the latest developments and trends of autonomous driving technology with Hyundai Motor's research team.
During CES 2023, the research team will also participate in other events such as the exhibition by the KAIST racing team at the IAC’s official booth located in the West Hall.
Professor David Hyunchul Shim said, “With these competitions being held overseas, there were many difficulties having to keep coming back, but the students took part in it diligently, for which I am deeply grateful. Thanks to their efforts, we were able to continue in this competition, which will be a way to verify the autonomous driving technology that we developed ourselves over the past 13 years, and I highly appreciate that.”
“While high-speed autonomous driving technology is a technology that is not yet sought out in Korea, but it can be applied most effectively for long-distance travel in the Korea,” he went on to add. “It has huge advantages in that it does not require constructions for massive infrastructure that costs enormous amount of money such as high-speed rail or urban aviation and with our design, it is minimally affected by weather conditions.” he emphasized.
On a different note, the IAC @ CES 2023 is co-hosted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and Energy Systems Network (ESN), the organizers of CES. Last year’s IAC winner, Technische Universität München of Germany, and MIT-PITT-RW, a team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Massachusetts), University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), Rochester Institute of Technology (New York), University of Waterloo (Canada), with and the University of Waterloo, along with TII EuroRacing - University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy), Technology Innovation Institute (United Arab Emirates), and five other teams are in the race for the win against KAIST.
Photo 5. KAIST Team’s vehicle on the track during the IAC @ CES 2022
The Indy Autonomous Challenge is scheduled to hold its fifth competition at the Monza track in Italy in June 2023 and the sixth competition at CES 2024.
2023.01.05 View 17449