KT, LG Elec, Hyundai Elevator join robot-elevator project

A robot freely gets on and off an elevator and moves around a building, doing everything from coffee to parcel delivery and route guidance.

This is the future of daily life envisioned by South Korea’s KT Corp. with LG Electronics Inc. and Hyundai Elevator Co.

The three companies on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the robot-elevator linkage business and stimulation of the robotics industry. Hyundai Elevator was thus added to a robotics cooperation system that KT and LG Electronics launched last year.

The three will jointly plan and search for elevator-robot linkage services, conduct cooperation to secure competitiveness in robotics services and look for new business lines. KT and LG Electronics said a far more competitive system of robotics services is possible by linking an elevator to a robot since robots must freely move between floors to increase their utility.

KT and LG Electronics are advancing robot services that deliver parcels, food orders and medicine.

“If efficient floor-to-floor movement is possible, we can improve the quality of services using robots in buildings like public housing and hotels,” an LG Electronics source said.

Hyundai Elevator tops the domestic elevator market with a 39.2% share. The goal is to achieve innovative robot services by converging the elevator technology of Hyundai Elevator with the robotics know-how of KT and LG Electronics.

The three will join smart building and smart city projects together. In future city projects worldwide, technology and services linked with robots and elevators are considered essential, and the competitiveness of related orders will grow from the construction of Saudi Arabia’s Neom City and Indonesia’s planned relocation of its capital.

Brand Essence Market Research and Consulting of India forecast the global service robot market to grow from $35.2 billion (44 trillion won) in 2021 to $140.9 billion (177 trillion won) in 2027.

Write to Ji-Eun Jeong at jeong@hankyung.com