VIDEO: Robot skiers tackle Olympic challenge in South Korea

Robot skiers tackle Olympic challenge in South Korea

As Pyeongchang hosts the Winter Olympics, down the road robots are also hitting the slopes – with a $10,000 prize on offer

Martin Belam and agencies

Tue 13 Feb 2018 

It is not only human athletes who have been aiming to go “Faster, Higher, Stronger” in South Korea. Alongside the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the nation has hosted a very different skiing competition – for robots.

The Welli Hilli ski resort in Hoenseong, an hour’s drive west of Pyeongchang, was the location for the Ski Robot Challenge. There was a US $10,000 prize on offer to the eight teams competing from universities, institutes and private companies.

Robot Alexi takes part in the Ski Robot Challenge at Hoenseong. Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

While their human counterparts were suffering the frustration of seeing events cancelled in Pyeongchang because of adverse weather, their mechanical counterparts had no such problem. “I heard the Alpine skiing has been postponed again due to wind conditions. That’s a pity,” said Lee Sok-min, a member of the winning TAEKWAN-V team. “Robots are doing fine here.”

Robot TiBo skis during practice at the Ski Robot Challenge. Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

The rules of the contest stipulated that the robots had to be more than 50cm in height, be able to stand on their own two legs, have independent power systems, use skis and poles, and have joints that allowed them to bend their knees and elbows. Sensors enabled the robots to detect the position of flags on the course, which they had to steer themselves through. Points were awarded for the number of flagpoles avoided, and the fastest time to the finish line. Not that all of the robots reached it.

Not all of the robots managed to make it all the way down the course. Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters'

The skiers are not the only robots attracting attention during the Games – the press centre in Pyeongchang has an Olympic-branded robot carpet cleaner in operation.

A robot carpet cleaner passes a worker using a traditional vacuum cleaner in the main press centre. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/feb/13/robot-skiers-tackle-olympic-challenge-in-south-korea

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