The South Korean gaming industry is reassessing its technological assets, which have been developed for enhancing game creation and in-game experiences, in light of the emerging era of physical artificial intelligence (AI) represented by robotics and autonomous driving.
According to the gaming and information technology sectors on June 9, the recent visit of Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, has sparked discussions about how the virtual world implementation technologies possessed by domestic game companies could serve as key infrastructure in the physical AI era.
While companies in manufacturing, robotics, and automotive sectors are typically recognized as physical AI enterprises, experts believe that gaming companies are poised to become significant technological partners in this ecosystem. This is due to their ability to create virtual environments and behavioral models for AI agents to learn and validate before being deployed in real-world physical settings.
Another advantage is the extensive use of various AI technologies. In the game development process, AI is utilized to enhance productivity in coding, translation, quality assurance, and the creation of graphics, sound, and animations. Within games, technologies are advancing to improve player experiences through non-player characters (NPCs), AI companions, real-time interactive characters, user behavior analysis, and matchmaking.
Additionally, game developers possess unique expertise in creating real-time 3D spaces where characters and objects move, as well as in developing game engines that adhere to realistic physical laws. They are optimized for implementing digital twins. Online gaming companies can leverage vast amounts of user behavior data and live service operation experience, which can serve as key assets for virtual environments used in robotic learning.
NCSOFT has been enhancing its AI research capabilities alongside game development and content services since 2011. This has led to the introduction of technologies for content video production and summarization. Last year, the company launched its AI subsidiary, NC AI, and plans to expand its collaboration with NVIDIA to include sophisticated physics-based computing, AI-driven interaction technologies, and real-time simulations.
NC AI is developing a physical AI solution for autonomous welding in collaboration with Hanwha Ocean and is jointly developing a robot foundation model (RFM) for cognitive and decision-making tasks with POSCO DX. Additionally, it is working with Hyundai Rotem on a digital twin simulator and world model for multi-robot control in defense applications, broadening the scope of physical AI in industrial and defense settings.
Krafton's partnership with NVIDIA includes discussions on game title optimization and robotics. Earlier this year, Krafton established a physical AI subsidiary, Ludo Robotics, to focus on humanoid robot AI research.
The CPC (AI NPCs or AI companions within games) and multimodal reinforcement learning technologies being researched by Krafton aim to enable AI characters to understand situations and act alongside users. While they are not directly manufacturing robots, they are designing the situational awareness and decision-making structures necessary for physical AI.
Nexon has also expanded its organization, Intelligence Labs, to focus on AI, big data, and machine learning technologies since 2017, accumulating extensive user behavior data and operational automation techniques for in-game interactions.
A representative from the gaming industry stated, "The recent attention on domestic gaming companies in physical AI stems from their experience in implementing virtual environments and behavioral simulations, rather than direct robot manufacturing. The technologies accumulated during the game development process, such as real-time 3D spaces and user behavior data, are being reassessed as possessing differentiated capabilities in robotic learning simulations and digital twin applications."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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