The Rise of South Korea's Robots in 2018 Winter Olympics, Where to Find Them

Human athletes are not the only attraction in PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, robots too. There is a rise of the machines in the Winter Olympics in South Korea as high-tech robots are seen roaming the Olympic venues or skiing in the icy slopes in the country. They have been capturing the attention of athletes and spectators alike in the Olympics.

Skiing Robots

South Korea recently hosted a Ski Robot Challenge tournament in a local ski resort in Hoengseong. Eight robotics teams from across the country competed in the 260-foot skiing course. The rule of the game is simple - the robot that made it down the slope the fastest and with the lowest number crashes will win the game.

The robots came in different shapes and sizes and have two legs with joints similar to elbows and knees. They also about 50 centimeters tall. The artificial intelligence-powered machines are developed by local universities, institutes, and tech firms in the country.

The winner of the tournament was the smallest robot on the course - TaekwonV robot which was built by the South Korean robotics company Minirobot. The ski-bot showed off its skills when it made down the slope for just 18 seconds. The team received US$10,000.

Cleaning Robots

Two cleaning robots that look like R2-D2 of Star Wars are seen whirring around the Main Press Center of the PyeongChang Olympics. They suck up dust from the carpet all throughout the day. The bots warn people to move out of their way if someone gets too close to them. Some visitors, however, deliberately getting into their way to see what the robots would do, while others took selfies or ask questions to the robots.

Drink-Serving Robots

Some bots can also be seen serving bottles of water to guests. The bots, shaped like mini refrigerators, offer free bottles of water. After taking a bottle, a person needs to press the "O" button so it can serve other guests. 

Visitors' Guide Robots

At the indoor Olympic stadiums, visitors can also run into conversational guide bots that look like Soohorang, the PyeongChang Olympics mascot. These bots were often seen surrounded by kids. Meanwhile, there are also robots that project news and weather updates onto the floor. 

Robotic Fish

These bots can be found swimming inside real water tanks at the Main Press Center as well as at the Super Store that sells Olympics merchandise. The robotic fishes are modeled to Koi and sea bream. Aside from the robots that competed in the skiing match, South Korea has deployed 85 robots in 11 different types. The robots at the PyeongChang Olympics were all developed by Korean tech companies and research institutes.