Development of Human Motion Model...KAIST·NVIDIA Establish 'Physical AI' Technology Center

KAIST and NVIDIA are developing a 'Human Motion Foundation Model' to learn human movement and physical intelligence for wearable robotics and humanoid control. They established the NVIDIA AI Technology Center (NVAITC) for joint research. The Human Physical Intelligence Technology Center will be set up in KAIST's Department of Mechanical Engineering, led by Professors Kyung-chul Gong and Jeong Kim. The collaboration aims to combine KAIST's human motion data and robotics control with NVIDIA's AI and global research network to secure next-gen Physical AI technology. The project will first build a foundation model to understand, predict, and generate human movement, which will form the basis for wearable robots and humanoids to respond naturally. The technology is expected to be applied in wearable robotics for rehabilitation, humanoids, movement analysis, and digital healthcare. Professor Gong will lead the model development, with Charles Q. Zheng from NVIDIA providing technical advice. The partnership will also run research-education programs using NVIDIA Omniverse and digital twin platforms, including a student ambassador program. An oversight committee will review goals and outcomes every six months, and annual international symposiums will be held. KAIST President Bae Chung-sik emphasized combining human-centric research with NVIDIA's AI infrastructure to realize Physical AI that better understands and assists humans. Charles Q. Zheng of NVIDIA highlighted the potential of this research to open new possibilities for Physical AI.