Poster for the 2026 Daegu Global Robot Business Forum. [Provided by Daegu city government]
Poster for the 2026 Daegu Global Robot Business Forum. [Provided by Daegu city government]

Daegu city announced Monday that it will co-host the 2026 Daegu Global Robot Business Forum with the Global Robot Cluster and the Daegyeong Robot Enterprise Promotion Association at Exco from Wednesday through Friday.

Now in its 10th year, the forum will be held under the theme "Physical AI and Autonomous Manufacturing: New Opportunities in the Global Robot Business."

The event is designed to share technology trends in the global robotics industry and expand opportunities for overseas expansion and commercialization through cooperation among domestic and international companies, research institutions and industrial clusters.

Robotics industry representatives from more than 20 countries are expected to attend. On the opening day Wednesday, six domestic and international experts will deliver keynote addresses.

Jo Gyu-jin, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Seoul National University, will speak on "Physical AI and the Age of Robot Exploration," outlining the industrial changes and future development directions that the convergence of AI and robotics will bring.

Xiaoxiao Li, a professor at Vector AI Research Institute, will address AI agents' learning capabilities and their capacity for autonomous problem-solving.

Francesco Ferro, chairman of PAL Robotics, and Oh Soon-young, a principal solutions architect at AWS, will introduce the industrial applications of physical AI.

Kim Yun-kyung, a researcher at Ludo Robotics and former director at Amazon Robotics, will cover advances in robot technology and system integration, while Daniel Theobald, chairman of Vecna Robotics, will examine the market expansion potential of the robotics industry.

On Thursday and Friday, representatives from GRC member countries will share national robotics industry trends, policies, technological developments and market outlooks, and explore avenues for international cooperation.

"This forum is a meaningful occasion to look back on the global robotics industry network and cooperative achievements built over the past decade, and to prepare for the next 10 years," said Lee Yun-jeong, head of Daegu's machinery and robotics division. "We will work to make Daegu a hub for global robotics industry cooperation."


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com