HD Hyundai Samho has begun a preliminary review to deploy humanoids at its shipyard.

On the 14th, the shipbuilding industry said HD Hyundai Samho is determining whether humanoids can be introduced for each process within production departments at the shipyard. The company is collecting data focusing on key factors such as return on investment (ROI), power infrastructure, and payload. It is also reviewing ways to train domain knowledge (specialized knowledge) needed to deploy them at shipbuilding sites.

HD Hyundai Samho is proceeding with development in collaboration with HD Hyundai Robotics and LG CNS. In Dec. last year, it also held a humanoid demonstration at its shipyard in Yeongam, South Jeolla. The demonstration showed a humanoid carrying a welder, walking at a worker’s request, performing welding, and carrying out pick and place (picking up and moving objects) tasks.

HD Hyundai Samho plans to first deploy humanoids for work producing small equipment and other items used in shipbuilding. The goal is to boost productivity by assigning humanoids to simple, repetitive tasks such as welding.

The company expects that once the learning level and movements of humanoids improve and data transmission and reception through various sensors and cameras become smoother, they can be deployed to more advanced tasks.

HD Hyundai Samho aims to verify and commercialize humanoids next year. To that end, it is conducting training for employees on artificial intelligence transformation (AX), including humanoids, three times a week through Nov.

An HD Hyundai Samho official said, “We are currently in the PoC (proof of concept) stage, verifying in advance the technical requirements, personnel, operating environment, and other factors needed to apply humanoids to real industrial sites,” adding, “We are reviewing applicability, focusing on simple tasks.”

Still, some say deploying humanoids at shipyards will not be easy in the near term. An industry official said, “Unlike typical manufacturers, most work at shipyards takes place outdoors,” adding, “There are many cases where the ground is not level, and surrounding conditions such as illumination change with the weather and time, so there will be many factors to overcome.”
Source: ChosunBiz