▲ Hyundai E&C and Hyundai Robotics to ‘collectively respond to the 4th industrial revolution in different areas of robot technologies’
▲ Implementing technology partnership in the fields of construction robots, mobile service robots 
   ... Seeking joint R&D implementation of 3D *SLAM-based autonomous driving software

   ... Planning to build on-going R&D cooperation mechanism and accelerate practical technology development commercialization

   *SLAM(Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) is a real-time localization and mapping algorithm

Hyundai E&C signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) with Hyundai Robotics for “Joint R&D of Construction Robotics Technology” on July 16th at the Hyundai Building in Gye-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. The signing ceremony was attended by Park Gu-yong, managing director of Hyundai E&C, and Yoon Dae-gyu, managing director of Hyundai Robotics as well as key figures from both companies.

Ever since 2018,  Hyundai E&C, convinced that the ‘Construction Robotics’ would be the new future business and a technology that would fundamentally change the labor-intensive construction sector, has accelerated its strategic promotion and development of this technology as a new market. The MOU will allow Hyundai E&C to embrace the robotics technology used in the manufacturing sector like automobiles and upgrade its construction-site robot technology while allowing Hyundai Robotics to target this segment as a new market in the construction sector.

The MOU provides for a close cooperation between the two companies to enhance the competitiveness in the  robot technology optimized for the construction sector notably in the areas of ▲development of construction site robots ▲mobile service robot business ▲development of core technologies for autonomous driving in on-site buildings ▲implementation strategy for mid to long-term business.

The robots will be used for anchoring(drilling holes) operations, painting, welding and bricklaying. On one hand, Hyundai E&C will implement technologies for handling construction operations and outdoor on-site autonomous driving. On the other hand, Hyundai Robotics will be in charge of developing cooperative robots and vision technologies (camera image analysis technology), allowing for humans and robots to work together in one space.

Hyundai E&C and Hyundai Robotics will jointly establish an ‘integrated self-driving software’ based on the latest 3D SLAM for robot autonomous driving applications, enabling robots to detect their environment and obstacles and move to the work location based on an optimized path. Moreover, both companies also hinted at a possibly of initiating a ‘mobile service robot’ business delivering parcels to   apartments and offices. Moreover, they will establish an on-going R&D cooperation mechanism and implement joint projects for field demonstration of developed technologies, thereby accelerating the development of relevant technologies and their commercialization. Hyundai E&C will be in charge of developing and applying on-site construction robot transportation equipment and outdoor self-driving software whereas Hyundai Robotics will be responsible for supporting cooperative robots and vision technology and optimizing indoor self-driving technologies.

Park Gu-yong, managing director of Hyundai E&C, said that “we will introduce the concept of automatic production, such as that of manufacturing, to the construction site and lead innovation in the construction industry by cooperating with Hyundai Robotics in the post-Covid19 era.” Yoon Dae-gyu, managing director of Hyundai Robotics, also added that “through this cooperation, we will build and apply robot technologies in the new industries to expand the application of robot solutions to manufacturing, logistics, and then to construction, thereby newly pioneering in the field of construction robots.”