During the 41st day of the relay in the lead-up to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea, a humanoid* robot carried the torch. The robot, called Hubo, walked about 150 meters to a wooden wall, before using a drill to cut a hole and pass the torch through.

Before taking part in the relay, Hubo gave Dennis Hong, director of the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory at UCLA, a ride, much to the delight of the watching crowd. Hong said that the ride was pretty bumpy but it was fine since Hubo’s main purpose is for rescue operations.

Oh Jun-ho, who created the robot, said: “Through the robot’s participation in the relay, we were able to show people the different ways that robots can be used in the near future.”

Eighty-five Hubo robots will be used at the games to assist with security, as well as cleaning and information services.(SD-Agencies)