"Serving and Delivering"... Samsung and LG Identify 'Igeot' as Future Growth Engine

Targeting the '60 Trillion' Service Robot Market... "No Key Player Yet, Potential Expected"

Samsung Electronics wearable walking assist robot GEMS Hip.
Photo by Samsung Electronics

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Yeju] As unmanned and automated transitions accelerate, more companies are designating robots as a future growth industry and entering new business fields. Among them, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have rolled up their sleeves to target service robots rather than industrial robots. They have judged that 'life-friendly robots,' which are used for various purposes such as delivering food in restaurants, making coffee, and delivering goods to convenience stores, have higher growth potential.

According to the industry on the 19th, LG Electronics recently decided to join hands with KT to establish a cooperative system for service robot research and development. They also expressed their intention to gradually proceed with platform construction to strengthen competitiveness in the robot industry and collaborate on government robot projects.

LG Electronics is entering the service robot market with its robot brand 'CLOi.' According to LG Electronics, they currently operate a total of seven types of service robots, including serving robots, guide robots, and delivery robots.

LG Electronics entered the life-friendly robot market early. At CES 2017, they first introduced a home lawn-mowing robot and an airport guide robot, and then signaled their market entry by acquiring wearable specialist company Angel Robotics. In 2018, the first year of Chairman Koo Kwang-mo's tenure, they acquired management rights of the industrial robot manufacturer 'Robostar' and subsequently invested in related companies such as Robotis and Boston Dynamics.

In 2020, they reorganized their structure by transferring the robot business to the Business Solutions (BS) division's robot business department, streamlining their lineup. The robot business is considered the company's future growth engine, replacing the mobile communications (MC) division, which was discontinued in July last year.

LG Electronics is also conducting research and development with robot experts. In 2020, they established a research center in Boston, USA, and collaborated with Professor Kim Sang-bae of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Recently, they also recruited robot scientist Professor Dennis Hong from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as an advisor.

Next-generation logistics robot based on autonomous driving, 'LG CLOi CarryBot'.
[Photo by LG Electronics]

Samsung Electronics officially launched its robot business somewhat later than LG Electronics, in December last year. After establishing the 'Robot Commercialization Task Force (TF)' directly under President Kim Hyun-seok of the Consumer Electronics (CE) division in February last year, they upgraded the 'Robot Commercialization Task Force' to the 'Robot Business Team' through an organizational restructuring in December, strengthening their robot industry efforts.

In particular, Samsung Electronics plans to invest 450 trillion won in future new business sectors over the next five years, including robots. Given the large-scale investment, the possibility of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is also open. Han Jong-hee, CEO of Samsung Electronics' Device eXperience (DX) division, recently mentioned at the 53rd regular shareholders' meeting, "The first step in discovering new businesses is robots."

Earlier this year, Samsung Electronics conducted recruitment for experienced professionals related to the robot business. They hired a large number of talents across 19 job categories, including hardware development, product planning, and robot standards.

Samsung Electronics is researching and developing household robots such as 'Samsung Bot Handy,' interaction robots like 'Samsung Bot i,' AI avatars, as well as 'Samsung Bot Serving' (food serving), 'Samsung Bot Guide' (customer service), and 'GEMS' (wearable walking assistance).

The growth of robots is steep. According to data compiled by market research firm Mordor Intelligence based on 2020 statistics, the global service robot market size is expected to grow from approximately $23.57 billion (about 27.8 trillion won) last year at an average annual growth rate of 44.9%, reaching about $212.61 billion (about 251.2 trillion won) by 2026.

Furthermore, the industrial robot market used for manufacturing process automation is saturated, with global companies such as Japan's FANUC and Yaskawa Electric, and Germany's KUKA occupying more than 50% of the total market. However, the service robot market is still in its early stages. This is the background for major companies entering the service robot market.

The outlook for the service robot market is also bright. The service robot market is expected to grow from 20 trillion won last year to 60 trillion won in two years. The global market is no exception. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the global home service robot market size is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 35.7%, from $4.6 billion (about 5.41 trillion won) in 2019 to $11.5 billion (about 13.5 trillion won) in 2022.

An industry insider said, "The domestic industrial robot market is somewhat a red ocean, with companies like Hyundai Robotics holding a high market share due to their long-standing business. However, the service robot market is just beginning to grow. Except for the medical field, there is no key player leading the market yet, so the potential is huge."

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