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CJ Logistics to introduce AI humanoid seeking fully autonomous operations
Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Kim Jeong-hee of CJ Logistics’ TES Innovation Center, left, and Rainbow Robotics CTO and head of its research institute, Heo Jung-woo, hold a partnership agreement for the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) humanoid to support logistics businesses at CJ Logistics' office in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of CJ Logistics
By Ko Dong-hwan
Field test with Rainbow Robotics set for later this year
CJ Logistics signed a partnership with a robotic platform specialist in Korea to introduce humanoids with autonomous decision-making for faster logistics operations, the country's major logistics firm said Thursday.
The company on Wednesday signed a partnership with Rainbow Robotics at CJ Logistics' Seoul office. Under the agreement, Rainbow Robotics is developing artificial intelligence (AI)-based humanoids with various robotic hardware technologies, including collaborative robots, mobile robots with arms and autonomous mobile robots.
CJ Logistics, meanwhile, is working on AI-based software to be implemented for Rainbow Robotics’ humanoids.
The company is developing Agentic AI, an AI technology with autonomous decision-making capability. The company said it will implement Agentic AI in its logistics operations to automate the entire process.
CJ Logistics said logistics workplaces require the highest level of difficulty for robotic help in industries because countless items of various sizes and weights must be sorted fast and without error.
Autonomous humanoids fit ideally into such an environment, proving themselves more efficient than robot fixtures that can only perform simple, repetitive motions and are maneuvered by human inputs, the company added. Because humanoids have a wide range of mobility and flexibility, logistics depots do not need to be physically restructured to accommodate them.
Under the partnership, the two companies, after building a robotic action algorithm using AI software and collected data, will start testing the humanoids by the end of this year.
“This is the first time in Korea a logistics depot is seeing machines beyond simple automation tasks, to humanoids making optimal decisions by themselves and taking action. This is a new paradigm in the country's logistics industry which has fused AI and robotics," said Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Kim Jeong-hee of CJ Logistics’ TES Innovation Center.
“This is a new beginning of AI humanoid logistics robotic development, which will enable beyond human assistance to self-directing automation," said Heo Jung-woo, Rainbow Robotics CTO and head of its research institute. "We’ll expand the burgeoning technology’s application from logistics to manufacturing, health care and other services.”
CJ Logistics said it has also joined the K-Humanoid Alliance, a group of private developers in Korea cooperating to develop the industry in Korea and achieve global leadership by 2030. Launched by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy last week, the alliance is dubbed the “dream team” of 15 experts in Korea’s AI and robotics industries.