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Robot control company Florizen Robotics announced on the 7th that it has applied quantum security technology to its patrol robot control system in collaboration with quantum security firm IDQ.
IDQ is a quantum security company established in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2001, and has supplied quantum random number generator chips for Samsung Electronics' 'Galaxy Quantum' smartphone series. The company set up a Korean subsidiary following an investment by SK Telecom in 2018 and was acquired last year by U.S. quantum computing firm IonQ.
Florizen Robotics, established in 2022, is a research institute spin-off of National Gunsan University headquartered in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, and undertakes integrated patrol robot projects for industrial sites and public facilities.
Its self-developed robot control system, 'FLOW,' enables remote monitoring and control of robots from multiple manufacturers, including quadrupedal walking robots and wheeled robots, on a single screen. It displays robot locations and statuses, along with real-time camera footage, overlaid on a digital twin map.
Florizen Robotics integrated IDQ's quantum random number generator (QRNG) into FLOW to protect the data exchanged between the robots and the control center using encryption keys generated from quantum randomness. The company emphasized that this is the first domestic case of applying quantum security to robot control communications and verifying its performance through accredited testing.
Patrol robots are utilized as 'mobile CCTV' devices that patrol parks, residential complexes, and public facilities while capturing footage of their surroundings. The data exchanged between the robots and the control center includes real-time location and movement paths, camera footage, and remote control commands, with the footage capturing citizens' faces, license plate numbers, and entry/exit routes.
If this communication is breached, personal privacy information leaks entirely, and if control commands are hijacked, the robot itself running alongside pedestrians becomes a hazard. Florizen Robotics blocked access at the communication stage to prevent external eavesdropping or manipulation of location/movement path information and control commands.
Performance was confirmed through accredited testing. According to tests conducted in August at WiseStone, an institutional investor accredited by the Korea Accreditation Body (KOLAS), the system recorded a 100% success rate for control command responses, simultaneous control of three robots, average data encryption time of approximately 0.09 milliseconds, and decryption time of approximately 0.02 milliseconds.
Florizen Robotics is designating Saemangeum, which borders Gunsan where its headquarters are located, as its first expansion hub. Saemangeum features industrial complexes, ports, and solar power generation facilities scattered across a wide area, making direct human patrols difficult. As advanced manufacturing facilities are established, demand for facility security and information protection is also growing.
Chairman Jang Se-jun of Florizen Robotics stated, "Since patrol robots are equipment that travel while filming the city, the moment control communications are breached, citizens' privacy leaks entirely." He added, "Starting with Saemangeum, we will expand the scope of protection to include video data and post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and apply it in actual field operations."
[MoneyToday startup media platform 'Unicorn Factory']
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