HD Hyundai invests $9.7 million in AIDIN Robotics

Humanoid robots are often sold on what they can see, walk toward and manipulate. 

HD Hyundai Robotics is betting that what they can feel may matter just as much. The company has invested $9.7 million (13 billion Won) in AIDIN ROBOTICS, a South Korean developer of force and tactile sensing technology, in a move aimed at building humanoid robots for shipbuilding and other heavy-industry environments.

A shipyard is unlike a typical factory setting , surfaces are irregular, tasks involve constant physical contact and processes such as grinding and polishing require the robot to respond to resistance rather than simply follow a pre-programmed path. That makes sensing and control critical.

AIDIN develops its own force and tactile sensors, along with related control technology. HD Hyundai Robotics plans to combine those capabilities with its existing robot platforms and jointly develop a five-finger robotic hand designed for shipbuilding and heavy-industry applications.

Image source : AIDIN Robotics