Photo courtesy of N.Light
NDotLight and AIRobot will conduct field trials of humanoid robots at shipbuilding sites for Hanwha Ocean (042660), the companies said Wednesday.
Under the demonstration project, the two companies will train humanoid robots and verify their potential for deployment at shipbuilding sites over a one-year period. The main goal is to have humanoid robots replace dangerous, repetitive tasks previously performed by humans. Through the project, Hanwha Ocean will review usage scenarios for applying humanoid robots at shipbuilding sites.
Humanoid robots can use the same workspaces, equipment, and movement paths used by humans. This makes it possible to perform tasks that were difficult to handle with existing automation systems. If the demonstration project is completed successfully, it is expected to improve safety and production efficiency in shipbuilding across various work areas, including inspection of hazardous zones, repetitive on-site movement, and the transport of equipment and goods.
In the demonstration, NDotLight will be responsible for building the data infrastructure and simulation environment using NVIDIA’s “Omniverse” and “Isaac Sim.” The role involves repeatedly training robots on movement, work, avoidance, and manipulation scenarios in a virtual environment before they are deployed at actual sites.
NDotLight will also construct a digital twin environment similar to an actual shipbuilding site, based on its own three-dimensional (3D) CAD engine and 3D artificial intelligence (AI) technology. In this virtual environment, the company plans to generate sim-ready 3D assets, physics-based simulation environments, and synthetic data needed for humanoid training and verification.
AIRobot will train humanoid robots on motion data from industrial sites. Based on “Alice,” the humanoid robot developed by AIRobot, the company will verify the feasibility of performing tasks required at shipbuilding sites, such as transporting heavy goods, autonomous movement, and walking over rough terrain. Through this, it plans to confirm whether humanoids can replace repetitive tasks that are difficult or dangerous for humans to perform.
“NDotLight will provide support so that AIRobot’s humanoid-based shipbuilding demonstration can advance to the field application stage through our simulation environment, sim-ready 3D assets, and synthetic data generation technology,” NDotLight CEO Park Jin-young said. AIRobot CEO Eom Yoon-seol said, “By combining AIRobot’s robotics technology with NDotLight’s sim-ready data infrastructure, we will demonstrate the possibility of robots replacing physical tasks that are difficult or dangerous for humans to perform.”