Samsung established a new organization called RX (Robotics eXperience) in order to carry out its work in the field of robotics in a more centralized structure. This section, which will gather all robotics projects within the company under one roof, is a concrete indicator of Samsung’s long-term goals for physical artificial intelligence and humanoid robot technologies. The strategic management of the new organization will be undertaken by Dongkun Lee, who joined Samsung as Executive Vice President in May. Samsung Electronics CEO TM Roh will directly oversee the operations of the RX unit.
Before joining Samsung, Dongkun Lee was among the names that led Hyundai’s robotics strategy. Within the scope of this role, he was also responsible for the activities of Boston Dynamics. Lee’s experience seems likely to play an important role in Samsung’s growth plans in the field of robotics. The company’s new organizational structure aims not only to manage existing projects from a single center, but also to facilitate the coordination of robotic platforms to be developed in the future.
Samsung plans to expand global robotics research network
The headquarters of the RX unit will be located in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. However, according to information provided by Reuters, Samsung also aims to strengthen its research activities in the field of robotics on a global scale. In this context, new robotics research centers are planned to be established in the USA, China and Japan. The company aims to develop robotic technologies in different fields by taking advantage of the engineering know-how and local expertise in these countries.
Recently, investments in physical artificial intelligence systems have increased noticeably in the technology sector. Efforts to develop robots not only with software but also with hardware that can perform tasks in the real world are among the priorities of many large technology companies. Samsung’s installation of the RX unit is considered to be one of the latest examples of this trend.
On the other hand, there are other companies taking similar steps. Hyundai recently expanded its robotics investments by purchasing all of Boston Dynamics. Alphabet, on the other hand, incorporated its robotics startup, which develops production-oriented robot technologies, into Google earlier this year. In addition, it is known that OpenAI is working on new devices focusing on physical usage scenarios of ChatGPT. There are claims that the first product may be a smart speaker.
Samsung’s goals in the field of robotics are not limited to research activities. According to Korea JoongAng Daily, the company plans to start producing humanoid robots this year. According to information provided by CNBC, TM Roh had previously announced that an investment of 19 trillion South Korean won, or approximately 13 billion dollars, would be made to develop the production facilities in Gumi, South Korea. A significant part of this investment is expected to be allocated to creating the infrastructure for the production of humanoid robots.
Humanoid robots have recently come to the fore with their potential usage scenarios in many different fields, especially in the production, logistics, healthcare and service sectors. In addition, the development of artificial intelligence models further advances the ability of these robots to perceive their environment, make decisions and interact with people naturally. Despite this, technical issues such as high production costs, energy efficiency and security continue to be among the main issues that the industry needs to solve.
Samsung’s establishment of the RX organization and accelerating its investments in humanoid robot production reveals that the company sees robotic technologies as one of its future growth areas. In the coming period, both the work coming from new R&D centers and the developments on the production side will be among the main factors that determine how Samsung’s competitive power in this field will be shaped.
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