Youngwoo DSP, SKT, and Others Sign Memorandum of Understanding on Robots..."Targeting the Robot Market"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Youngwoo DSP, a company specializing in display and semiconductor inspection equipment, announced on the 28th that it will enter the global service robot market together with SK Telecom (hereinafter SKT), Woori Robot, and Koga Plex.

On the afternoon of the 25th, Youngwoo DSP held a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony for a business partnership to commercialize the AI (artificial intelligence) serving robot 'ServingGo' with SKT, Woori Robot, Koga Plex, and Varmi Inter-Burgo Hotel Daegu (hereinafter Inter-Burgo Hotel) at the Daegu Inter-Burgo Hotel.

SKT will provide Metatron Grandview technology for remote indoor monitoring of the serving robot. Additionally, using big data accumulated through Metatron, SKT plans to monitor the health status of the serving robot and analyze usage patterns to support customized customer services. Woori Robot is responsible for business planning and manufacturing of the serving robot, while Koga Plex developed the AI indoor autonomous driving technology.

Youngwoo DSP leverages its display inspection equipment technology to oversee product development, design, mass production, and shipment of the serving robot. The company acquired a 10% stake (133,000 shares) in Woori Robot as a strategic investor last November.

Choi Nak-hoon, head of SKT Smart Factory CO (Company), said, "SKT is evolving from a telecommunications company into an AI company, and one of the core areas is the robotics industry. We believe that products should be commercialized using our startups, our companies, and our technology, and that we should grow into a global robotics company."

ServingGo is scheduled to be piloted with about 10 units in the lobby and restaurant of Inter-Burgo Hotel starting in August. The robot will greet customers at the hotel entrance, serve welcome drinks in the lobby, and deliver ordered food and requested items.

SKT plans to apply 5G (5th generation mobile communication) networks and sequentially equip the robot with facial and body recognition technology through Vision AI, as well as voice recognition technology, to advance the robot's capabilities. Since Youngwoo DSP, Woori Robot, and Koga Plex have secured indoor autonomous driving technology, they expect rapid commercialization of various service robots beyond serving robots, including hotel robots, hospital robots, advertising robots, and security robots.

Park Seung-do, president of Woori Robot, said, "The serving robot is a miniature version of an autonomous vehicle and a collection of software and precision control technology. By collaborating with Woori Robot’s personnel from the complete vehicle industry and Youngwoo DSP’s precision control device experts, we were able to secure excellent performance and quality."

Youngwoo DSP emphasized that this pilot operation will expand the utilization of service robots in the hotel sector. They explained that the introduction of service robots can maintain service quality while reducing labor costs, contributing to the revitalization of the domestic tourism industry.

A Youngwoo DSP official said, "Service robots help solve the shortage of hotel staff and cost reduction issues, and also reduce the labor intensity of existing personnel. Especially after the COVID-19 situation is resolved and tourists increase again, the importance of automation and contactless services will grow." He added, "In Japan, autonomous delivery robots have already started delivering requested items to guest rooms. The hotel service robot market is expected to grow rapidly, especially since the Tokyo Olympics."

In particular, Youngwoo DSP expects that its orders from major Chinese display companies such as BOE and Tianma will help the future entry of service robots into the Chinese market. Since Youngwoo DSP oversees the development and mass production of robots, it is expected to be recognized for quality over robots produced domestically in China.

Park Geum-sung, CEO of Youngwoo DSP, said, "Based on the precision control technology and mass production technology accumulated through developing semiconductor and display equipment, we will become a robot platform company that mass-produces various service robots, starting with serving robots."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.