Doosan Robotics opens new research facility

The newly opened Doosan Robotics Innovation Center in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of Doosan Robotics

Doosan Robotics has opened its new research and development (R&D) facility dedicated to developing more advanced intelligent robots and relevant software technologies, the company said Monday.

The Doosan Robotics Innovation Center is located in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, and is built on some 2,000 square meters of land. The facility is the largest of its kind here, the company said.

Almost 40 percent of the firm’s employees will work at the facility to develop advanced robot solutions. They include technologies for humanoid robots and robot-specific artificial intelligence (AI) software.

The innovation center will serve as the firm’s major research hub by carrying out all processes from robot parts and software development to quality testing.

For instance, the company will conduct thousands of tests on whether its robot arms are capable of moving in every direction without any errors. It also plans to enhance the durability of its products by testing them under extreme conditions, such as high temperatures.

Doosan Robotics expects the facility to help speed up the firm’s development of new products and technologies.

Specifically, the company is at the forefront of developing multiarm simultaneous control technology, which would allow multiple robot arms to conduct more complex and detailed work with precision at major manufacturing facilities. It is also developing collision evasion technology by using sensors to ensure safety at work sites.

The company scouted Oh Chang-hun, former chief technology officer at Toss Securities, to be its new executive vice president. Oh will be responsible for driving Doosan Robotics’ AI and software technology development. He has expertise in designing and managing core platform architectures, having worked at major internet-driven firms such as Naver and Toss.

“Doosan Robotics is executing our core initiatives so we can become an intelligent robot solutions provider,” Doosan Robotics CEO Kim Min-pyo said. “We will develop our AI technologies by utilizing our compiled industrial data and strong research manpower, and lead the era of physical AI with our strong expertise in developing intelligent robots.”