Industrial workers are always exposed to the risk of musculoskeletal diseases. If you repeat the same movements, unnatural postures, and excessive force, you can often injure your shoulders, arms, or back.

An alternative that has emerged is a wearable robot.

According to market research firm BIS, the global wearable robot market is expected to grow rapidly from $96 million (approximately KRW 107.4 billion) in 2016 to $4.65 billion (approximately KRW 5.2 trillion) in 2026. .

FRT is Korea's leading wearable robot company that produces the 'Step Up Series', a strength-enhancing robot for industrial workers, and the 'Hyper Series' for national defense and firefighting. I met CEO Jang Jae-ho at the headquarters in Gyeongsan, Gyeongsangbuk-do.

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-What is a wearable robot?

▶It is an exoskeleton that measures signals from the human body and controls the driving part, meaning a device that improves the wearer's physical abilities. It's easy to think of the movie 'Iron Man'. Efforts to commercialize products are underway in various fields, including industrial labor, national defense, and medical care, mainly in the United States and Japan.

-What was the reason for starting the business?

▶After receiving a doctorate in mechanical engineering, he joined the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology in 2008 and worked as a senior researcher in the robot group until early this year. FRT is a company founded in 2015 based on previous experience. Now that I have quit my job, I am focusing solely on managing FRT.

-I don’t think it would have been easy to leave a stable job and start a startup.

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▶I have confidence in wearable robots. I wanted to contribute to society through commercialization of my experience developing robots while working as a researcher. It was not easy to commercialize wearable robots in research institutes alone. As we have carried out research and development using taxpayers' money, we have a sense of mission to successfully commercialize it, create added value and employment, and show our results to society.

-What is your representative product?

▶First of all, there is Hyper, Korea’s first hydraulic wearable robot. Hyper is mainly used to transport heavy objects weighing more than 25 kg. Firefighters or soldiers can wear the Hyper and receive strength support at fire sites or operational sites. It also won the grand prize at the 2017 government technology competition for its hyper development. However, although it is good to show technological advancement, the target market is mainly public, so it is difficult to actually distribute or sell it. The industrial robot Step Up was developed to create a market.

-Were there any difficulties during the development process?

▶The concept of a wearable robot itself is unfamiliar. Because it has never been used before, it is difficult to understand and persuade consumers. Since the market is still in the forming stage, there may be numerous failures, but in Korea, the tendency to perceive even the experience required for success as failure is also a burden. I hope you understand that the Hyper Series, which is in the commercialization stage, is not a failure, but a process of creating a business model through continuous improvement.

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-Market demand is slowly stirring. What is the delivery status?

▶Private demand is very large. Many companies want it, and individuals are also interested. Currently, about 50 units have been delivered to about 10 sites, including construction sites, logistics centers, and nursing homes. Recently, Step Up 3rd generation products were supplied to Hankook Tire tire repair shop T-Station to help with tire replacement work. In the future, we plan to develop a subscription service rather than simply selling products.

-What type of subscription service is this?

▶It is a form of helping workers work efficiently and safely by securing a variety of user experiences to help prevent musculoskeletal disorders or manage health. By quantifying movement data and muscle data through algorithms, companies can clearly distinguish when workers will work and when they will rest based on these data. We plan to advance our services so that wearable robots can be easily used not only in industrial sites, but also in agriculture, restaurants, and individuals.

-Wouldn’t wearable robots actually make us do more work?

▶Wearable robots do not allow workers to do twice as much work. The main purpose is disease prevention. For example, when wearing a step-up, it does not help the wearer increase muscle strength in all movements. It only works if you have an abnormal posture or apply excessive force momentarily. In other words, a muscle-enhancing wearable robot supports muscle strength only when necessary, thereby reducing fatigue and preventing injury.

-What are your predictions for the growth potential of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk robot industry?

▶Rather than being optimistic about growth based solely on abundant infrastructure, we must ensure that actual consumption occurs. If robots are purchased here and actually put to use, companies will come on their own. There is a big difference between whether there is a robot roaming around Dongdaegu Station or not. When people see robots and companies come together, the industry develops.

-What are your future business plans?

▶I believe that technology is not the only thing that drives the market. Robots create a new market through the convergence of appropriate business models and services. That's why we're putting a lot of effort into developing subscription services. Also, as we have roots in Daegu-Gyeongbuk, we want to create jobs through continuous growth and contribute to the local community.