Seoul: HD Hyundai Co. announced that its key affiliates, in collaboration with a U.S. robotics firm, have established a partnership to develop and commercialize AI-powered humanoid welding robots tailored for shipyard projects.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the partnership agreement was recently signed between HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KSOE) Co., HD Hyundai Robotics Co., and Persona AI, a Houston-based company known for its expertise in humanoid robots. This agreement follows a memorandum of understanding from May of last year focused on developing humanoid robots for shipyard welding tasks. HD Hyundai highlighted that a prototype, which has been in development since last year, has shown promising technological feasibility and potential.
As part of the agreement, HD KSOE will focus on creating welding training technologies for robots, utilizing data collected from shipyards. Meanwhile, HD Hyundai Robotics is tasked with managing the system integration necessary for robot deployments. Persona AI aims to design a bipedal humanoid platform that can move stably within shipyard environments. HD Hyundai plans to gradually introduce humanoid welding robots specific to shipyards at actual shipbuilding sites, with capabilities to perform complex tasks.