by Jang Hyowon
Published 10 Apr.2023 08:30(KST)
Sohnid, a KOSDAQ-listed company (CEO Oh Jung-geon), announced on the 10th that it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Polish state-owned Ukaszewicz Industrial Automation Research Institute (PIAP) to jointly develop industrial accident prevention AI robots and military/police robots, and will proceed with development, advancement, and mass production.
Based on this LOI and MOU, both companies plan to accelerate the joint development of industrial accident prevention AI and military/police robots. Sohnid will invest funds for robot development and manufacturing, its subsidiaries Defense Korea and Sohnid Robotics will be responsible for AI, autonomous driving, and add-on technology development, and PIAP will handle the manufacturing and supply of multipurpose large robots (PIAP IBIS).
In February, Sohnid formed a consortium with New Korea Electronics and Telecommunications to jointly develop industrial accident prevention AI robots for disaster prevention, and on April 5th, participated in the ‘2023 1st Smart Construction Technology Briefing’ hosted by Seoul City, where they demonstrated the robot.
The AI safety reconnaissance robot demonstrated at the Seoul City event is a product equipped with PIAP’s multipurpose large robot (PIAP IBIS) integrated with AI, autonomous driving, and robot add-on technologies from Defense Korea and Sohnid Robotics. Defense Korea plans to equip the safety reconnaissance robot with additional equipment such as KCMVP (Korean Cryptographic Module Validation Program), water cannon, shotgun, X-ray system, explosive detector, mine detector, and CBRN to enable it to operate in various environments and missions.
The industrial accident prevention AI robot can prevent safety accidents at industrial sites and respond quickly in case of disasters. It can block gas leaks in hazardous areas, remove obstacles, enter and suppress fire zones, and easily move hazardous objects within dangerous areas such as nuclear power plants, other power plants, oil fields, and gas facilities. It also has the advantage of being usable for military purposes such as mine clearance and explosive detection.
Sohnid entered the robot business by establishing Sohnid Robotics in September last year, and in November, strengthened its competitiveness by incorporating Defense Korea, a specialized company in anti-terrorism equipment and robots, as a subsidiary. Defense Korea signed a technology agreement with PIAP in 2021 and has been responsible for the distribution, operation, and maintenance of domestic small explosive ordnance disposal robots (PIAP EOD). It also signed contracts for repair and maintenance of naval operation robots in 2021 and 2022, a supply contract for PIAP GRYF robots with the National Police Agency in 2021, and a supply contract for PIAP FENIX (backpack type) with the National Police Agency in 2022.
A Sohnid official stated, “We will proceed with the advancement and mass production of industrial accident prevention AI robots and the development of military/police robots in cooperation with PIAP,” adding, “We will strive to successfully mass-produce and enable potential customers such as government, local governments, and companies to adopt and utilize these robots in actual projects in the industrial and military AI robot sectors.”
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