Persona AI CEO Nicolaus Radford (R) and two senior executives of HD Hyundai pose after agreeing to cooperate on the development of welding humanoid robots at HD Hyundai’s office in South Korea on Monday. Photo by HD Hyundai
SEOUL, March 23 (UPI) — South Korea’s HD Hyundai said Monday it would test welding humanoid robots at shipyards operated by its affiliates, including the world’s leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.
HD Hyundai noted that its subsidiaries have recently signed an agreement with U.S.-based artificial intelligence company Persona AI, a high-profile startup on industrial humanoid robots.
Under the partnership, HD Hyundai will leverage its shipyard data to come up with robot training technologies for field testing.
Meanwhile, Persona AI is poised to focus on developing a bipedal humanoid platform designed to stably move in complex shipyard environments, according to HD Hyundai.
The Seoul-based conglomerate said that the project aims to test robots capable of performing high-level tasks such as welding by replicating the expertise and working patterns of highly skilled personnel.
“Humanoids tailored for shipyards will serve as a key foundation for future smart facilities by enhancing worker safety while improving production efficiency,” HD Hyundai said in a statement.
“We plan to lead a new paradigm in the shipbuilding industry by introducing humanoids into ship construction sites.”
The group did not disclose a timeline for deploying the robots in actual operations. Such a move is expected to face strong opposition from labor unions.
The share price of HD Hyundai dipped 9.23% on Monday on the Seoul bourse. The country’s benchmark KOSPI dropped 6.49% amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran.