Daedong Golf Divot Repair AI Robot Wins CES Innovation Award

Daedong Robotics and HL Group Jointly Develop 'DivotFiX'

Daedong Robotics, the artificial intelligence (AI) robotics subsidiary of Daedong Group, announced on December 12 that the golf divot repair AI robot 'DivotFiX', which is being co-developed with HL Group, has been awarded an Innovation Award at CES 2026.

This award recognizes 'DivotFiX', exhibited by HL D&I Halla at CES 2026, as an Innovation Award winner in both the Robotics and Advanced Mobility categories. Daedong Robotics is jointly developing 'DivotFiX' with HL D&I Halla and HL Mando. The three companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for technological collaboration in August and have continued joint development based on each company's core competencies.

In the development of 'DivotFiX', Daedong Robotics is responsible for the exterior design and hardware structure, leveraging its agricultural transport robot platform. HL Mando is developing the software algorithms based on autonomous driving and AI recognition technologies, while HL D&I Halla is in charge of divot location detection using drone mapping and the establishment of a web-based AI platform. The company explained that winning the CES Innovation Award for 'DivotFiX' is significant because it demonstrates the solution's uniqueness as an automated golf course management system and its potential for future business expansion in the global market.

'DivotFiX' is an intelligent autonomous robot that detects divots-damaged turf areas created during play-on golf courses using vision AI and LiDAR, and then restores them by dispensing divot sand through a quantitative injection system. This robot is expected to significantly improve the efficiency of divot repair work, which has traditionally relied heavily on manual labor, and to enhance the consistency of course quality management.

With the development of 'DivotFiX', Daedong Robotics is expanding its robot business portfolio beyond agriculture to include outdoor service robots for leisure, sports, and public infrastructure. By combining the golf course sales network of its parent company Daedong Mobility with HL D&I Halla's experience in golf course maintenance, the company also anticipates creating synergy after the technology is commercialized.

Yeo Jungku, CEO of Daedong Robotics, stated, "The fact that the divot repair robot developed in collaboration with Daedong Robotics has won a CES 2026 Innovation Award, following last year's AI cultivator Innovation Award, is further recognition of Daedong Group's technological prowess on the global stage. We will continue to develop intelligent robots specialized for various outdoor tasks, such as the divot repair robot, to expand our market presence."

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