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Robotics sensory intelligence technology company Aiden Robotics said Friday that it has secured strategic investment totaling 160 billion won from HD Hyundai Robotics and Samsung Venture Investment.
Aiden Robotics is a startup founded in November 2019 by robotics expert Professor Choi Hyuk-ryul of Sungkyunkwan University's Department of Mechanical Engineering and Dr. Lee Yun-haeng (CEO), who came from a research lab.
Technology that allows robots to perceive the force at the moment they touch an object and adjust it autonomously is considered a key challenge for humanoid and physical AI (artificial intelligence) to move beyond demonstration stages and enter industrial sites.
Aiden Robotics designs and produces its own capacitive-type force/torque sensors and tactile sensors, supplying them to domestic and international humanoid and collaborative robot companies. It has also provided surface processing automation solutions combining sensor and force control technologies to various manufacturing sites including defense, semiconductor equipment parts, and automobiles.
An Aiden Robotics official stated, "The fact that we possess both hardware—sensors—and software—force control technology—is our differentiator from competitors limited to supplying individual components." They added, "Capacitive-type technology is advantageous for miniaturization and cost reduction, making it suitable for humanoids that require multiple sensors per joint."
HD Hyundai Robotics selected Aiden Robotics as a partner to jointly prepare for automation at shipbuilding and heavy industry sites and the era of humanoids. Through this investment, Aiden Robotics plans to expand its surface processing robot automation business into the shipbuilding sector.
Shipyards are recognized as sites where existing automation equipment struggles to cope due to the vast volume of surface treatment work on hull outer plates and block welds, along with non-standardized working environments.
Aiden Robotics aims to jointly develop and apply surface treatment robot automation solutions for shipbuilding and heavy industry with HD Hyundai Robotics at actual sites, then expand its business scope to domestic manufacturing as a whole and overseas markets such as the U.S. shipbuilding industry.
Additionally, Aiden Robotics will jointly develop a high-load five-finger robotic hand specialized for shipbuilding and heavy industry to be mounted on humanoid robots currently under development by HD Hyundai Robotics. The company's strategy is to secure actual ship production sites as demonstration grounds and utilize the force control data and operational know-how accumulated there in the development of robotic hands.
Furthermore, Aiden Robotics will expand its robot component business. It plans to invest the secured funds into building a Yangsan facility for force/torque sensors, establishing a quality verification system, and increasing R&D personnel, aiming to achieve an annual production capacity of 30,000 units.
Lee Yun-haeng (CEO) stated, "Humanoids cannot enter the field if robots cannot perceive and control force and contact autonomously." They added, "Through the secured funds and customers, we will demonstrate business value and focus on completing a robot component Yangsan system."
[MoneyToday startup media platform 'Unicorn Factory']
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