Hyundai Rotem has moved to secure future battlefield technology by consecutively winning core state-backed development projects for unmanned robots based on physical AI (artificial intelligence combined with physical entities such as robots).
Hyundai Rotem said on the 26th that it was selected as the final contractor for the state research and development (R&D) projects "integrated control system for heterogeneous, multi-robot operations based on natural-language commands," commissioned by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), and "integrated simulator and modular robot system based on physical AI," commissioned by ADD.
The MOTI project centers on developing control software (SW) that can integrate and control multiple types of unmanned robots using human speech and text. As a program to rapidly commercialize AI applications, it must go beyond research to achieve technological maturity.
Currently, when an operator wants to control a single unmanned robot, the robot must be managed by entering standardized commands one by one using a specific remote device. But with the advent of an integrated control system, a minimal operating team will be able to control multiple, different unmanned platforms simultaneously by using language and text.
A Hyundai Rotem official said, "We plan to apply and internalize this integrated control technology to our core unmanned platforms going forward, including the multipurpose unmanned vehicle 'HR-Sherpa' and our legged robot," adding, "We will build an integrated command-and-control system capable of operating multiple HR-Sherpas and legged robots simultaneously in swarms, and will continue to advance it."
The ADD project is to develop a Digital Twin simulator that can verify unmanned robots' performance in a virtual environment rendered as if real, along with a modular unmanned robot platform. Once the simulator is developed, it is expected to enhance development efficiency and safety by allowing repeated verification of various environments and mission conditions without time and space constraints before the transfer stage of operating actual unmanned robots.
This ADD project is part of the Future Challenge Defense Technology research and development initiative, which encourages the early development of innovative defense technologies whose requirements have not yet been finalized. It selects some of the ideas proposed bottom-up by academia, industry and research institutes, making it significant for securing technologies suited to the future security environment.
A Hyundai Rotem official said, "We are devoting all our capabilities to advancing physical AI technology that prioritizes national security and public safety," adding, "We will continue working to develop manned-unmanned teaming weapons systems that the Army of the Republic of Korea can trust and use."