Developed by Professor CHOI Jeong-soo of the Department of Robotics Engineering… Poised to Set a New Standard for Healthcare Robots

AI Robot “SEGYM” Without Weight Plates Achieves Electronic Control of Up to 380 kg

A Successful Model of Faculty Entrepreneurship at YU… Emerging as a Global Player Just Three Years After Founding

[December 8, 2025]

 <The CES Innovation Award–winning product is HUMANICS’ cutting-edge AI fitness robot, “SEGYM.”>

 HUMANICS Co., Ltd., an AI healthcare robotics company founded by Professor CHOI Jeong-soo of the Department of Robotics Engineering at Yeungnam University (YU) (President CHOI Oe-chool), has won an Innovation Award in the Robotics category at CES 2026, the world’s largest information technology (IT) and consumer electronics exhibition. This marks the company’s second consecutive win, following its Innovation Award in the Fitness category at CES 2025, underscoring once again the global technological competitiveness of a university faculty–founded startup.

 The CES Innovation Awards are presented annually by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) to the most innovative technologies and products exhibited at CES, which is held each year in Las Vegas, USA. Winners are selected through a comprehensive evaluation of technological excellence, design, and innovation.

 The award-winning product is HUMANICS’ advanced AI fitness robot, “SEGYM.” Instead of conventional heavy metal weight plates, SEGYM utilizes high-performance motors to electronically control loads of up to 380 kg (based on the super-strong model). Users can precisely adjust the weight in 1 kg increments with a simple button touch, and a single machine enables more than 80 different exercises, including deadlifts, bench presses, and squats.

 A key factor behind this award is HUMANICS’ proprietary “sensorless (force estimation) algorithm” and “human-in-the-loop” control technology. These technologies enable the system to detect a user’s force and intent in real time at 1 ms (one-thousandth of a second) intervals without the need for physical sensors, thereby delivering responsive and adaptive resistance. This allows multiple training modes—such as isometric and isokinetic exercises—to be performed safely within a single system. In addition, the solution is integrated with HUMANICS’ dedicated app, “HUMANIA,” which provides precise analysis of body performance metrics such as strength, speed, and balance. The system has been adopted in elite sports settings, including the Jincheon National Training Center and the SSG Landers, where it has demonstrated its excellence by contributing to performance enhancement and injury prevention.

<Professor CHOI Jeong-soo of the Department of Robotics Engineering at YU>

 Professor CHOI Jeong-soo, a faculty member of the Department of Robotics Engineering at YU and CEO of HUMANICS, stated, “SEGYM is a product that completely redefines the exercise experience by integrating hardware, data, and coaching into a single platform.” He added, “Building on the technological credibility validated by the CES Innovation Award, SEGYM will become a new standard in the global fitness market.”

 Professor CHOI, who joined YU’s Department of Robotics Engineering in March 2019, is recognized as one of Korea’s leading emerging scientists in robotics research. He received the Presidential Award at the Korea Invention Patent Exhibition in 2017 for his patent on a multi-legged locomotion robot, and the Korean Iron Man robot “WalkON Suit 4,” in whose development he directly participated, won a gold medal at the Cybathlon 2020, achieving world-class recognition. HUMANICS, which he founded in 2022 based on the research outcomes of YU’s Department of Robotics Engineering, has, within just three years of its establishment, won CES Innovation Awards for two consecutive years and received multiple honors, including the G-Star Award (Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do Award), selection for the TIPS R&D Global Track, and designation as a Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC) U-TECH Valley company. As such, HUMANICS is widely regarded as a successful model of industry–academia cooperation driven by faculty entrepreneurship.