Sports Briefs
Published: 06 Dec. 2017, 17:34
85 robots will find work at PyeongChang Olympics
The PyeongChang Winter Games will assign a variety of robots to stadiums, airports and event venues to assist athletes and showcase the latest technology, the commerce ministry said Wednesday.
A total of 85 robots will be placed in venues to provide information on schedules, transportation and tourist attractions during the Olympics, which runs from Feb. 9-25, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. The ministry said 11 kinds of robots will be used.
A walking humanoid robot developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Kaist) will bear the Olympic torch on Dec. 11 on a route near the institute in Daejeon, 160 kilometers (99 miles) south of Seoul.
Speaking robots will provide information on event scheduling, places to go sightseeing and transportation in four languages - Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese - and paint robots will draw murals on the walls of stadiums during the games, it said.
Robotic vacuum cleaners, small autonomous delivery robots and robot fish will also be utilized in venues located in three cities, Pyeongchang, Gangneung and Jeongseon.
Kaist professor Oh Jun-ho, who is in charge of the robot support team, will showcase his robots at Seoul Dragon City hotel in central Seoul later in the day, the ministry said.
BASEBALL
Yang Hyeon-jong voted player of the season
Reigning baseball league MVP Yang Hyeon-jong was voted by his peers as the top player of the season Tuesday.
Yang, voted the regular season MVP in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) last month, earned the Player of the Year honors at the 2017 Players’ Choice Awards, hosted by the Korea Professional Baseball Players Association (KPBPA).
The KPBPA created the awards in 2013, with all active KBO players casting votes for the best player in the league each year.
Yang, a left-handed ace for the Kia Tigers, set a career high with 20 victories in 31 starts in 2017, becoming the first Korean pitcher in 22 years to notch 20 wins in a season. He posted an ERA of 3.44 to rank fifth in the league and claimed his first MVP award in November, receiving 656 points out of a maximum 856 points.
Yang was also voted the MVP of the Korean Series, as his Tigers knocked out the Doosan Bears in five games to capture their first championship since 2009.
Yang threw a complete game shutout in Game 2, winning 1-0, and came out of the bullpen to record a save in the clinching Game 5.
Yang is the first player to win both the regular season and Korean Series MVP awards in the same season.
Among other winners Tuesday, Nexen Heroes outfielder Lee Jung-hoo was voted the best rookie. The 19-year-old set KBO rookie records with 179 hits and 111 runs scored in 144 games, and was the runaway winner of the Rookie of the Year award in the regular season, becoming the third plyaer in the Heroes’ history to do so.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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