Hello! I am a fourth-year Ph.D. candidte in the Department of Architecture & Architectural Engineering at Seoul National University. I am fortunate to be advised by Professor Changbum R. Ahn, and I am a member of the Construction Engineering & Management Lab. My research bridges construction robotics and human-robot interaction, with a focus on enabling robots to learn from and collaborate with human workers.
I previously completed both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Architectural Engineering at Seoul National University, where I conducted research on modular construction and human-robot interaction under the advisement of Professor Moonseo Park.
I am honored to be a recipient of the Basic Science Research Program (Ph.D. Fellowship) from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF).
Currently, I serve as a student coordinator of a joint project funded by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport & Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, South Korea, on developing a multipurpose robotic platform and XR-based human–robot collaboration system for construction work at height. If you are interested, please visit this page for more details.
🔥 News
- Jul 21, 2025: 🤖 Our paper, “Learning viewpoint control from human-initiated transitions for teleoperation in construction”, is now published online in Advanced Engineering Informatics!
- Feb 22, 2025: 📷 Our paper, “Comparing dynamic viewpoint control techniques for teleoperated robotic welding in construction”, is now published online in Automation in Construction!
- Dec 19, 2024: Check out this article on robotics research at Construction Engineering and Management Lab (SNUCEM).
- Sep 1, 2024: 🎉🎉 I was awarded the Basic Science Research Program (Ph.D. Fellowship) from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF).
- Aug 15, 2024: Finally migrated my personal website from google to github! :smile:
- May 1, 2024: 🎉🎉 Our paper, “LaserDex: Improvising spatial tasks using deictic gestures and laser pointing for human–robot collaboration in construction”, has been chosen as an Editor’s Choice selection in the Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering.
📝 Publications
Learning viewpoint control from human-initiated transitions for teleoperation in construction
Sungboo Yoon, Moonseo Park, Changbum R. Ahn
Advanced Engineering Informatics, 2023
Invited paper
Comparing dynamic viewpoint control techniques for teleoperated robotic welding in construction
Sungboo Yoon, Moonseo Park, Changbum R. Ahn
Automation in Construction, 2025
[Demo]
LaserDex: Improvising Spatial Tasks Using Deictic Gestures and Laser Pointing for Human–Robot Collaboration in Construction
Sungboo Yoon, Moonseo Park, Changbum R. Ahn
Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, 2024
Invited paper, Editor’s choice
[Demo]
Effects of spatial characteristics on the human–robot communication using deictic gesture in construction
Sungboo Yoon, YeSeul Kim, Moonseo Park, Changbum R. Ahn
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 2023
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Chaeeun Lee, Sungboo Yoon, Moonseo Park, Changbum R. Ahn, Interpreting Spatial Instructions for Effective Human-Robot Communication in Construction Environments, Journal of Construction Automation and Robotics, 2024
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Dongwoo Kang, Sungboo Yoon, Moonseo Park, Changbum R. Ahn, Analysis of Factors Affecting the Acceptance of Smart Personal Protective Equipment(Smart-PPE) by Construction Workers Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) Framework, Journal of the Korea Institute of Construction Safety, 2024
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Sungboo Yoon, Seungmin Shin, SangHyun Lee, Moonseo Park, Changbum R. Ahn, Evaluating Viewpoint Control Techniques in Virtual Reality Interface for Teleoperating Construction Welding Robots, Proceedings of the 31st International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering, 2024
Recognized as a top paper and invited to the special issue of the Advanced Engineering Informatics -
Sungboo Yoon, Chaeeun Lee, SangHyun Lee, Moonseo Park, Changbum R. Ahn, A Taxonomy of Extended Reality for Human-Robot Interaction in Construction Based on a Systematic Literature Review, Proceedings of the Creative Construction Conference, 2024
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Sungboo Yoon, Jinsik Park, Moonseo Park, Changbum R. Ahn, A Deictic Gesture-Based Human-Robot Interface for In Situ Task Specification in Construction, Computing in Civil Engineering, 2024
Recognized as a top paper and invited to the special issue of the Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering -
Sungboo Yoon, Moonseo Park, Minhyuk Jung, Hosang Hyun, Suho Ahn, Multi-objective Optimization Model for Tower Crane Layout Planning in Modular Construction, Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 2021
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Chan Heo, Changbum R. Ahn, Sungboo Yoon, Minhyuk Jung, Moonseo Park, Measuring the Impact of Supply Network Topology on the Material Delivery Robustness in Construction Projects, The 9th International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management (ICCEPM), 2022
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Sungboo Yoon, YeSeul Kim, Changbum R. Ahn, Moonseo Park, Challenges in Deictic Gesture-Based Spatial Referencing for Human-Robot Interaction in Construction, ISARC. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, 2021
[Talk]
🎓 Education
Seoul National University, South Korea
Ph.D. in Architectural Engineering (2022 – Present)
- Advisor: Dr. Changbum R. Ahn
Seoul National University, South Korea
M.S. in Architectural Engineering (2020 – 2022)
- Thesis: “Challenges in Spatial Communication Using Deictic Gesture for Human-Robot Collaboration in Construction”
- Advisor: Dr. Moonseo Park
Seoul National University, South Korea
B.S. in Architectural Engineering (2014 – 2020)
- Graduated with honors (Cum Laude)
📚 Projects
Project in Progress
Multipurpose Robotic Platform and XR-Based Human-Robot Collaboration for Work at Height in Construction
Joint Project by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport & Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, 2025-04-25 ~ 2029-12-31
- Developing a novel construction robot platform that supports three common high-altitude tasks—welding, painting, and fireproof spraying
- National Research Foundation of Korea, Extended Reality-Based Teleoperation Interface and Immersive Visualization for Welding Work at Height in Construction, 2024-09-01 ~ 2026-08-31
Completed Projects
Technical Development of Modular Construction in Mid-High Rise Building and Higher Productivity
Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement, 2014-09-21 ~ 2023-10-31 (2020-01-01 ~ 2023-10-31)
- Developed a multi-objective optimization model for heavy equipment layout planning
- Designed the Modular Construction Management and Information System (MoMIS) and collected user feedback from site managers
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Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea, Planning for joint project of XR for Human-Robot Collaboration in Construction, 2023-07-24 ~ 2023-12-23
- Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA), Development of construction site smart safety model factory and evaluation standards, 2023-05-22 ~ 2023-11-30
- Established evaluation criteria for smart safety equipment and guidelines for field implementation
- Collected feedback from construction workers, safety managers, equipment manufacturers, IT companies, and government representatives
- Seoul National University, Interactive Communication System for Human-Robot Collaboration in Construction, 2021-10-01 ~ 2023-09-30
- Proposed a new interface which can provide an effective and intuitive means of operating construction robots, enabling construction workers to communicate spatial goals without the need for extensive training in robotics
- Proposed a method to accurately infer the distant, human-indicated spatial goals by estimating the laser trajectories
🏆 Honors and Awards
- 2024.05 Editor’s Choice Article, ASCE Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering
Paper Title: “LaserDex: Improvising Spatial Tasks Using Deictic Gestures and Laser Pointing for Human–Robot Collaboration in Construction.” Yoon, S., Park, M., and Ahn, C. R. (2024). - 2024.11 Best Paper Award (Undergraduate Student Research), The 2024 Annual Conference of Korea Institute of Construction Engineering and Management (KICEM)
Paper Title: “Imitation Learning Framework for Construction Tasks Using Constraint Learning.” Shin, S., Yoon, S., Park, M., Ahn, C. R. (2024). - 2023 Graduate Fellowship, Foundation for Industrial Safety Partnerships
- 2023 Graduate Fellowship, Engineering Research Foundation
- 2022–2023 Dean’s List, Seoul National University
- 2022.10 Best Paper Award (Undergraduate Student Research), The 2022 Autumn Annual Conference of Architectural Institute of Korea (AIK)
Paper Title: “Workspace-Aware 3D Mapping Framework for Social Navigation in Construction Sites.” Park, J., Yoon, S., Park, M., Ahn, C. R. (2022). - 2020 Graduate Fellowship, Hanssem DBEW Research Foundation
- 2019 Second Place Award, Graduation Exhibition, Seoul National University
- 2019 Second Place Award, Mooyoung CM Competition, Mooyoung CM
- 2019–2022 Dean’s List, Seoul National University
🤖 Robots
Robots I have worked with in my research.
Rainbow Robotics, RB10-1300U
- To be updated
Franka Emika, Panda (virtual)
- Description: 7-DoF collaborative robot arm simulated in VR, used as a manipulation arm with a MIG-welding tool and a camera arm with an RGB-D sensor
- Usage: Used for dynamic viewpoint control for teleoperated robotic welding at height in construction
KUKA, KR 6 R900 sixx
- Description: A 6-DoF industrial manipulator (payload 6 kg, reach 900 mm) equipped with a Makita 3706 drywall cutting tool and an Intel RealSense D435 RGB-D camera, mounted on a mobile lift
- Usage: Used for precise drywall cutting in human–robot interface studies combining deictic gestures, speech, and dynamic laser pointing
Yujin Robot, Turtlebot v2
- Description: Kobuki-based mobile platform equipped with an Intel RealSense D435 RGB-D camera and Intel NUC computer running ROS
- Usage: Used to interpret deictic (pointing) gestures through vision-based 3D human pose estimation in human–robot spatial communication studies in construction