South Korea: 20 humanoids on trial in factory and shipyard, one quadruped on patrol

The manufacturer Robros will run the trials with Nepes, Sungwoo Hitech, HD Hyundai Samho and Deliverylab. It will deploy 20 humanoids to check their performance in real working conditions.

Four tasks will be tested: cleaning semiconductor parts, positioning car body parts, loading scaffolding elements for shipbuilding and loading parcels in refrigerated logistics.

Until now, safety rules have required industrial robots to be fixed installations behind barriers. According to the paper, that made it difficult to send humanoids into factories, since they move in the same space as human operators.

The committee has also granted, for the first time, an exemption allowing a quadruped robot to patrol a pedestrian path. MAUM AI will run an autonomous robot of this type along riverside paths and in parks in Cheonan, in Chungcheong Sud province.

The ministry also plans to set out, by early 2028, cybersecurity rules for factories that bring AI into their production.