Eugene

About Eugene

In 1988, a time when personal computers were just becoming mainstream, Dr. Kyung-Chul Shin, a pioneer in the Korean robotics field, founded Eugene Robot. Fresh from earning a Ph.D. in robot control technology in the US and a stint at Samsung, Shin had a vision: to create robots that would enrich human lives. Initially, the company focused on industrial robots for manufacturing, but the 1997 Asian financial crisis forced a pivot. This critical juncture led Eugene Robot into the nascent field of service robots. By 2004, they had launched 'iRobi,' an educational robot for children. This was followed by their most successful consumer product, the 'iClebo' robotic vacuum cleaner, which gained international recognition and was sold by major European appliance companies like Germany's Miele. This success cemented Eugene Robot's status as a first-generation leader in Korea's robotics industry. Facing intense price competition from Chinese manufacturers in the consumer market, the company made another strategic shift. Under the leadership of CEO Park Sung-joo, Eugene Robot pivoted away from its B2C products to focus on B2B solutions. The new strategy centered on autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for logistics and smart factory automation. Their 'GoCart' autonomous logistics robot earned the world's first international safety standard certification (ISO 13482) for a mobile servant robot, a significant technical achievement that opened doors to hospitals and industrial sites in Europe. This deliberate transformation from a consumer gadget maker to a specialized industrial automation provider marks the latest chapter in their journey.