Bongsub Song (송봉섭)

Researcher / Ph.D. Intelligent Robot System Research Section
Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)
Daegu 42994, South Korea
📧 Email: sbs[at]etri[.]re[.]kr 📞 Phone: +82-53-670-8065 (Office)

📖 Biography

I am a Researcher at ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute). My research interests focus on Robotics, Reinforcement Learning, and System Control in hazardous environments. I received my Ph.D. in Robotics Engineering from DGIST in 2025, specializing in Reinforcement Learning-Driven Snake Robots.

💼 Professional Experiences

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)

Intelligent Robot System Research Section · Researcher (Full-time)

Daegu, South Korea · 2025 – Present

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI)

KAERI Robot Lab · Intern

Daejeon, South Korea · 2016 – 2017

Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST)

Deep-sea Mineral Resources Research Center · Exploration Intern

Ansan, South Korea

Aug 2012 — Pacific KR 5 Deep-sea mining site (10°N, 131°W), Honolulu, Hawaii, US
Jan 2012 — Mid-Indian Ridge Deep-sea mining site (7°–16°S, 66°–67°E), Port Louis, Mauritius – Colombo, Sri Lanka

🎓 Education

Ph.D. in Robotics Engineering, DGIST, South Korea (Aug 2025)
- Thesis: A Study on Reinforcement Learning-Driven Snake Robot (Advisor: Prof. Dongwon Yun)
M.E. in Robotics Engineering, DGIST, South Korea (Feb 2020)
- Thesis: A Study on Spent Nuclear Fuel Inspection System and the Methods (Advisor: Prof. Dongwon Yun)
B.A. in Information and Telecommunication Engineering, Incheon National University, South Korea, Cum laude (Feb 2018)

🛠 Skills & Expertise

AI & RL: Reinforcement Learning (Ray Rllib, Stable Baselines 3), Deep Learning (Tensorflow, Pytorch)
Programming: C/C++, Python, C#, Java, ROS (Robot Operating System), Linux Kernel Programming, Batch programming
System Control: Linear/Non-Linear system representation (Matlab), Dynamics simulation (Gazebo, Simscape, Mujoco)

🔬 Research Projects

Planning Study on Cost-Effective Precision Grippers Based on Tactile Sensors and Its Applications
- Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) 2025 - (On going)
Development of Reinforced Embodied Intelligence through Active Interaction in Real-World
- Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) 2025 - (On going)
Development of Safety Robot Technology for Wireless Operation, Detection, and Response in Narrow Spaces
- Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) 2022 - 2025
Development of Gripper Systems for High-Mix Production Processes Capable of Robustly Grasping Objects of Various Shapes, Weights, and Stiffness
- Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) 2022 - 2024
Development of Control Algorithms for Performance Evaluation and Functional Testing of Sampling Manipulators in Unmanned Ground Vehicles
- Korea Atomics Energy Research Institute (KAERI) 2022 - 2023
Freedom of movement: A drivetrain study for future autonomous mobility
- Hyundai Motor Group 2022 - 2023
Development of floating off the ground (OTG) mobility technology for new personal mobility
- Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) 2020 - 2022
Development of narrow space navigation robot technology for detection and rescue
- Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) 2019 - 2021
Development of shape-adaptive electro-adhesive gripper for grasping arbitrary shaped objects
- Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) 2018 - 2019

📝 Publications

Journal Papers

Bongsub Song, Insung Ju and Dongwon Yun, “Optimizing Snake Robot Locomotion with Decomposed Gait Pattern Representation,” *Integrated Computer-Aided Engineering, 2025.
Bongsub Song, Younghun Su, Jingon Yoon, Baek-Jin Kim, Dongwon Yun, “A Hybrid Gripper with Electro-adhesive Film for Variable Friction,” Sensors and Actuator A, 2024.
Bongsub Song, Jongwon Park, Dongwon Yun, “PBIS: A Pre-Batched Inspection Strategy for Spent Nuclear Fuel Inspection Robot,” Nuclear Engineering and Technology, 2023.
Junseong Bae, … Bongsub Song, et al., “Review of the latest research on snake robots…”, International Journal of Control, Automation and Systems (Accepted).
Kim, Myeongjin, Bongsub Song, and Dongwon Yun. “Study on the Compact Balance Control Mechanism for Guinea Fowl Jumping Robot.” Electronics, 2022.
Junseong Bae, … Bongsub Song, et al., “Snake Robot with Driving Assistant Mechanism,” Applied Sciences, 2020.
Bongsub Song, Jongwon Park, Dongwon Yun, “Depth-adaptive controller for Spent Nuclear Fuel Inspections,” Nuclear Engineering and Technology, 2020.

International Conferences

Donghyun Kim, … Bongsub Song, et al., “GripFlexer: Development of hybrid gripper…”, IROS, 2024.
Bongsub Song, et al., “Development of Hovering Personal Mobility Device and Its Dynamics,” ICMT, 2023.
Bongsub Song, et al., “Development of Personal Off-The-Ground Mobility…”, ASCC, 2022.
Myeongjin Kim, Bongsub Song, et al., “Study on Guinea Fowl Mimicking Jumping Robot…”, ICMT, 2021.
Bongsub Song, et al., “Sensorless Control for Atypical Object Gripper”, AsiaHaptics, 2018.
Jeongseok Kim, Bongsub Song, et al., “Development of a prototype of two-fingered gripper,” ICMT, 2018.
Bong Sub Song, et al., “Nuclear Spent Fuel Inspection Robot Using Image Sensor,” ETME, 2018.
Jeongseok Kim, Bongsub Song, et al., “Design of an electric adhesive gripper…”, ETME, 2018.

🏆 Honors & Awards

Outstanding Innovation Award, ROKA Robotics Challenge (2019)
Invitation to President’s Robot Industry Strategy Exhibition (President Moon Jae-in, 2019)
Graduate Excellence, Incheon National University (2018)
Outstanding Student Award (President’s Award), Incheon National University (2017)
Championship (USV Category), IAEA Robotics Challenge (2017)

📜 Patents

Floating platform (KR 10-2022-0103072)
Floating Device (KR 10-2022-0014779)
Snake-Shaped Robot Driving Assistance Unit (KR 10-2021-0095696)

📺 Media Appearances

🎥 Interviews & Broadcasts (Video)

(Click the image to watch the video)

[TV Interview] Tech for Good: Robot snakes and tortoises? (CNN, 2025)

[YouTube] Pengsoo meets real science! (Science Friends, 2022)

[YouTube] Visiting a place that makes animal robots (Geekble, 2020)

[TV Interview] Finding a way in renewable energy (KNN, 2017)

[Live TV Interview] JOB Information Center (WorkTV, 2016)

📰 Press Releases

[Yonhap News] President Moon’s Visit to Daegu: “Robot Industry is an Opportunity” (Mar 22, 2019)
🔗 Read Article
[Joongdo Ilbo] KAERI deploys robots to inaccessible areas (Apr 20, 2017)
🔗 Read Article

Last updated: November 2025