Insider Brief
- Doosan Robotics was selected to lead two South Korean government-backed physical AI projects with a combined R&D budget of about $74 million, spanning on-device AI collaborative robots and intelligent welding systems.
- About $51 million of the combined budget will come from government funding, with the first project developing cobots and an industrial humanoid that use locally processed sensor data for perception, decision-making and control.
- The second project will develop AI-assisted welding for complex work including nuclear power equipment, with Doosan targeting more than 95% similarity to skilled-worker welding paths and plans to expand the technology into shipbuilding, plant engineering and defense.
Doosan Robotics has been selected to lead two South Korean government-backed physical AI projects with a combined research and development budget of about 98.9 billion won, or roughly $74 million. Doosan said it ultimately plans to combine technology from the two projects into a physical AI system for collaborative robots, bringing together AI chips, software and robot hardware.
According to the South Korean robotics company, projects will focus on collaborative robots that can perceive, make decisions and control their movements using on-device AI chips, and intelligent welding systems for complex industrial work including nuclear power equipment. About 68.1 billion won, or roughly $51 million, of the combined budget will come from government funding.
The programs are jointly administered by South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Planning & Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology. Doosan Robotics will serve as the lead organization on both projects.
On-Device AI for Collaborative Robots
The first project, “Development of Next-Generation Collaborative Robot Technology Based on On-Device AI Semiconductors,” is to develop robots that can handle perception, decision-making and control without relying on an external computer or cloud service, according to Doosan.
The system will use a domestically developed AI system-on-chip, installed directly in collaborative robots, that combines a neural processing unit for AI calculations with real-time communication and robot-control functions. Doosan said the robots will process information from cameras, tactile sensors, force and torque sensors and voice inputs locally, allowing them to make decisions and carry out tasks in real time.
The company indicated it plans to develop three collaborative robot models with payload capacities of 5 kilograms, 10 kilograms and 20 kilograms. It also plans an industrial humanoid with two-arm manipulation and omnidirectional mobility.
The systems will undergo continuous 72-hour demonstrations at at least two customer sites, and Doosan plans to pursue international safety certification. Commercialization as standard products is targeted to begin in 2031.
The 54-month project includes Aidin Robotics, Mobilint, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology and SAIGE, along with industry-academic cooperation organizations from Korea University, Dongguk University, Sejong University and Yonsei University.
AI-Assisted Welding
The second project, “Development of an Intelligent Welding Solution Based on Collaborative Robots and AI,” will use collaborative robots, AI and digital-twin technology to automate more difficult welding work.
Doosan said vision systems will allow the robot to recognize welding targets and adjust its position automatically. The system will also use imitation learning to learn from skilled welders and generate welding paths and weaving movements.
The company’s goal is to achieve more than 95% similarity between welding paths generated by the robot and those produced by skilled workers, with a path error of no more than plus or minus 3 millimeters. It also plans to automate multi-pass welding involving five or more layers and reduce processing time by more than 50%.
Testing will take place at the Doosan Enerbility Nuclear Power Center and initial work will cover tack welding, preheating and welding used in nuclear power equipment manufacturing. After obtaining relevant nuclear quality certification, Doosan plans to extend the welding technology into shipbuilding, plant engineering and defense applications.
The welding project will run for 45 months. DeepX, SAIGE and the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation of Changwon National University will participate as research organizations, while Doosan Enerbility will take part as the end user.
