Overview
KRAFTON Inc., a Korean gaming and technology company, announced that its robotics subsidiary Ludo Robotics showcased Ludi 0.2, the latest version of its socially intelligent robotic‑intelligence system, at the 2026 Bay Area Robotics Symposium (BARS) held at the University of California, Berkeley on 2 November 2026.
Ludi 0.2 Capabilities
Ludi 0.2 builds on the earlier Ludi 0.1 released in August 2026 and adds several enhancements aimed at more natural human‑robot interaction. The system now features improved social intelligence that better interprets human intent, responds to feedback and incorporates social cues; expanded memory and reasoning to maintain contextual understanding across changing tasks; coordinated tool use that integrates navigation, manipulation and interaction capabilities; gesture interpretation that recognises and reacts to human gestures; and smoother, more adaptable physical movement in supported environments.
Research Roadmap
Ludo Robotics’ longer‑term roadmap targets Ludi 1.0, a next‑generation foundation model currently under development, which will unify perception, dialogue and physical action in a single architecture to enable robots to share task understanding with people in real time.
Locations and Leadership
Ludo Robotics is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with an additional research and development laboratory in Seoul, South Korea, positioning the team close to leading academic and technology ecosystems. The technical leadership includes Kangwook Lee, who serves as Chief Technology Officer of Ludo Robotics and Chief AI Officer of KRAFTON and is a former tenured associate professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison; Rob Nowak, an IEEE Fellow and professor at the same university who acts as Chief Scientist; and Yea‑Seul Kim, Human‑Robot Interaction Lead, formerly an assistant professor of Computer Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
KRAFTON Corporate Background
Founded in 2007, KRAFTON operates a global network of 19 independent creative studios—including PUBG STUDIOS, Striking Distance Studios, Unknown Worlds, Neon Giant, KRAFTON Montréal Studio, Bluehole Studio, RisingWings, 5minlab, Dreamotion, ReLU Games, Flyway Games, Tango Gameworks, inZOI Studio, JOFSOFT, Eleventh Hour Games, OmniCraft Labs, Olivetree Games, Loonshot Games and 9B STUDIO—responsible for premier game IPs such as PUBG BATTLEGROUNDS, PUBG MOBILE, inZOI, Subnautica, MIMESIS, Hi‑Fi Rush, Dinkum, TERA, My Little Puppy and others.
KRAFTON India Activities
KRAFTON India delivers mobile gaming experiences in the country, with its flagship title BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA having surpassed 260 million downloads. Its portfolio also includes Road To Valor: Empires, CookieRun India and Real Cricket, and it has driven the Indian esports ecosystem through tournaments such as BGIS and BMPS. Since 2021, KRAFTON India has invested more than US$250 million in Indian startups across interactive entertainment, gaming, esports and technology, and it has launched a ₹6,000 crore Unicorn Growth Fund together with Naver and Mirae Asset to support high‑potential startups. The company further nurtures game‑development talent via the KRAFTON India Gaming Incubator (KIGI), now in its fourth cohort, and the recently introduced KIGI Academy, an industry‑academia initiative partnered with IIT Madras.