Naver Connect Foundation, a non-profit educational organization, announced on the 10th that it supported an international youth robotics competition. The foundation plans to continue efforts to create a sustainable educational ecosystem where future generations can develop technological capabilities in fields such as robotics and artificial intelligence (AI).
On November 8th, a competition was held at the Naver 1784 building in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to select the national representative team to participate in the “Robotics for Good Youth Challenge,” hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) under the United Nations. The event was co-organized by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity. It was designed to enhance technical skills and collaboration abilities by having youth use robots and AI to solve real-life problems.
The competition focused on food security and featured 17 teams of high school students from across the country, totaling 81 participants, who passed the preliminary rounds conducted by the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity. The students undertook tasks such as designing robots and simulating processes to solve agricultural issues, including crop cultivation, irrigation, and harvesting. They created robots to autonomously perform tasks like planting seeds in designated areas and watering them, as well as categorizing the freshness of fruits.
Kim Tae-yun, an embedded systems engineer from Naver Labs, a leading research and development organization, participated in the final judging. At the competition, Kim stated, “Experiences like these, which involve handling technology to solve real-world problems, are crucial foundations for the growth of future talent.” Kim Nam-il, a leader responsible for research on data platforms for robotic AI learning at Naver Labs, gave a special lecture emphasizing the importance of physical AI and new interaction methods in future cities and spaces.
The foundation plans to continue supporting the discovery and empowerment of next-generation technical talent by operating various programs, including a youth mentoring program in the robotics field next year. On this day, Naver Connect Foundation and Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity signed a memorandum of understanding to promote youth AI and software education and foster future talent.
Kim Ji-gak, a leader at Naver Connect Foundation, said, “Robotics is an emerging technology sector gaining attention in the global market,” and added, “The foundation will actively support future generations to learn core technologies with high growth potential, like robotics, so they can become leaders in future industries.”