Doosan Robotics announced on the 6th that it has consecutively won two national research projects related to physical artificial intelligence (AI).
The company’s proposed next-generation collaborative robot project and intelligent welding solution project were both selected as national research projects under the 'K-On-Device AI Semiconductor Technology Development Project' and the 'Robot Industry Technology Development Project,' which are jointly led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology. The total research and development budget for the two projects is approximately 98.9 billion won, of which the government subsidy is approximately 68.1 billion won.
The first project focuses on developing foundational technologies to enhance the cognitive, judgment, and control capabilities that serve as the robot's 'brain.' The second project involves developing application technologies to deploy these capabilities in high-difficulty manufacturing environments. Doosan Robotics plans to complete a 'Korean-Style Physical AI Collaborative Robot Integrated Platform' by utilizing both technologies.
The core of the first project, 'Development of Next-Generation Collaborative Robot Technology Based on On-Device AI Semiconductors,' is enabling robots to perform perception, judgment, and control autonomously without relying on external PCs or cloud services. The company will embed a domestic AI system-on-chip (SoC) equipped with an AI-dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) and real-time communication and control functions into collaborative robots. The robots will make direct judgments and perform tasks in the field based on information from cameras, tactile sensors, force-torque sensors, and voice inputs.
Doosan Robotics will develop three types of collaborative robots equipped with this chip, as well as an industrial humanoid capable of dual-arm operations and omnidirectional movement. The company plans to commercialize these as standard products starting in 2031, following 72-hour uninterrupted field demonstrations at two or more demand sites and the acquisition of international safety certifications.
This project will proceed over a period of 54 months. Doosan Robotics serves as the lead institutional investor, with participation from AIDIN Robotics, Mobiline, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute of Korea (ETRI), the National Institute for Advanced Technology (NIAT), Sage, and the industry-academic cooperation foundations of Korea University, Dongguk University, Sejong University, and Yonsei University.
The core of the second project, 'Development of Intelligent Welding Solution Technology Based on Collaborative Robots and AI,' is automating high-difficulty welding at the level of nuclear power plant equipment by combining AI and digital twins with collaborative robots. The robot will recognize welding targets via cameras and autonomously correct its position, while mimicking skilled workers' movements through imitation learning to automatically generate welding paths and weaving motions.
Doosan Robotics aims to align the robot's welding path with that of a skilled worker by 95% or more and keep path errors within 3mm (based on national accredited testing institutional investor standards). The company also plans to automate multi-layer welding of five layers or more, reducing working time by more than 50%.
Field demonstrations will be conducted at the Doosan Enerbility Nuclear Center.
Park In-won, President of Doosan Robotics, stated, "The labor shortage in manufacturing sites and the aging of skilled workers are structural problems that cannot be solved simply by increasing automation equipment." He added, "By combining on-device AI semiconductors with our proprietary collaborative robot platform, we will turn physical AI collaborative robots capable of learning and reproducing even the tacit knowledge of skilled workers into a new competitive advantage for Korean manufacturing."
in INDUSTRY
