Hyundai Robotics, Vodafone to provide service robots in Germany

South Korean robotics firm Hyundai Robotics Co. announced it signed a letter of intent for a business partnership with global telecommunications giant Vodafone on May 30 at Hannoverf Messe in Germany, one of the world’s largest trade fairs. The two firms will start collaborating in developing 5G- and 6G-powered service robots for the medical, hospitality and other industries.

The two firms will join forces to create next-generation service robots, as well as global marketing and entry to the European market, Hyundai Robotics stated on Tuesday.

Hyundai Robotics is planning to apply Vodafone’s technologies in 5G, artificial intelligence and big data to its service robot’s hardware and autonomous driving software.

Embedded ultrahigh-speed wireless communications are essential for service robots to effectively clean, disinfect places or assist people, Hyundai Robotics said. Robots collect environmental data via cameras and sensors and quickly process the data to work efficiently at upscale hotels, exhibition centers and hospitals, the firm added.

The Korean robot company will equip the service robots with its in-house controller that will be enhanced by Vodafone’s 5G infrastructure. The AI-powered controller is set to allocate work to robots and prevent overlapping tasks through a real-time data exchange between robots.

The two firms are planning to launch pilot trials of disinfection robots at The Universitätsklinikum Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf University Hospital), a Hyundai Robotics official told The Korea Economic Daily. They look to soon provide 5G-powered service robots to other areas in the near future, such as restaurants, hotels and senior nursing homes, he added.

The Korean firm is stepping up its entry to the European robotics market. At Hannover Messe, two European companies, Spain-based Mozo Robotics and the Netherlands-based RobotART, signed letters of intent to purchase 300 and 600 of Hyundai’s service robots, respectively.

Hyundai Robotics was founded in 1984 as a robotic division at the research institute of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, a global shipbuilding giant. It develops and produces industrial robots, service robots and robots for automation systems in factories such as logistics and welding automation. It was spun off from Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2020.

Updated with the hospital name for pilot trials

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.