Humanoid robot "PIBOT" performs helmsman duties under the direction of an officer of an Aegis destroyer during the Navy’s first-ever robotic crew combat experiment at the Naval Education and Training Command’s ship handling facility in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, July 23. Courtesy of Republic of Korea Navy
Inside a naval bridge simulator in the southern coastal city of Changwon, an officer issued a sharp navigational command: "Port five degrees, hold course 330!"
The voice that echoed back was not that of a young sailor, but the metallic confirmation of a humanoid robot.
"Port five degrees, hold course 330," the machine repeated, its mechanical hands gripping the wheel to adjust the ship's heading before reporting completion: "Holding course 330."
The Korean Navy conducted Thursday its first-ever combat experiment utilizing PIBOT, a physical artificial intelligence (AI) humanoid robot designed to replace human sailors at the helm. Developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) with 5.7 billion won ($4.1 million) in defense funding, the initiative represents a high-tech gamble to solve a looming national existential crisis: a demographic cliff that is rapidly draining the country's military recruitment pool.
