Samsung Heavy Industries said on the 24th that it signed a business agreement with Rainbow Robotics, a robot specialist, to develop and commercialize shipbuilding robots and will develop an AI-equipped welding robot based on a collaborative robot.
Under the agreement, Samsung Heavy Industries will provide its accumulated welding robot operation data and a test environment for verification. Rainbow Robotics will support robot hardware development and technology.
The two companies will first lighten the robots to improve on-site usability and will develop robots that can move inside blocks and on inclines for welding curved blocks, which are difficult to work on.
Samsung Heavy Industries is currently developing and operating about 90 types of automated equipment and robots for block welding, painting, liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier cargo hold welding, and pipe inspection.
In addition, the company has completed building an unmanned system for its steel cutting plant and is focusing on production automation, shifting to a full-fledged 24-hour operating system starting in Sep.
Based on the data accumulated here, Samsung Heavy Industries plans to use AI to build robots that can also weld curved blocks. It then plans to expand the scope of cooperation to include mobile dual-arm robots and quadruped robots.
The company expects that cooperation with Rainbow Robotics will lead to reliability verification and broader practicality of robot platform technology, training of automation specialists, securing industrial property rights for automation technology, and accelerated transition to a smart shipyard.
Kim Jin-mo, head of future business development at Samsung Heavy Industries (vice president), said, "We are confident that cooperation with Rainbow Robotics will enhance Samsung Heavy Industries' automation technology and construction competitiveness," and added, "We will actively pursue commercialization by combining AI with robot technology to expand application areas."