Safety’s best friend?

22nd September 2021

Hyundai Motor Group has introduced the “Factory Safety Service Robot” and announced that it will go into pilot operation at Kia’s plant in South Korea in support of site safety.

The robot is based on Boston Dynamics’ quadruped robot, Spot, with applied artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous navigation, teleoperation technologies and computing payload developed by the Group’s robotics lab for the robot’s use in various industrial tasks.

“The Factory Safety Service Robot is the first collaboration project with Boston Dynamics. The robot will help detect risks and secure people’s safety in industrial sites,” says Dong Jin Hyun, head of Hyundai Motor Group’s robotics lab. “We will also continue to create smart services that detect dangers at industrial sites and help support a safe work environment through continuous collaborations with Boston Dynamics.”

With an integrated thermal camera and 3D light detection and ranging (LiDAR), the robot can detect persons around it, monitor high-temperature situations and potential fire hazards, as well as perceive whether a door is open or closed.

Apart from its autonomous navigation operation, the Factory Safety Service Robot can be controlled remotely through a secure webpage that provides a livestream of its movements around the plant, enabling office personnel to remotely observe industrial areas. The robot’s AI technology also allows it to detect dangers and send alarms to managers through the secure webpage.

With these functions, it provides real-time sharing of photos of on-site situations and an activity log with the control centre. It is also possible to connect multiple robots to the control system to simultaneously check various zones.

Through the pilot operation at Kia’s plant in South Korea, the Group will use the robot to support late-night security patrols and create a safer environment for workers. The Group will also go through the robot’s proof of concept and assess its effectiveness as well as its applicability before expanding its patrol areas and reviewing additional deployment to other industrial sites.