Choi Nak-hoon, head of SKT Smart Factory CO (left), and Lee Seong-ho, CEO of C-MES, are taking a commemorative photo after signing a business agreement for AI robot logistics field business cooperation.
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] SK Telecom announced on the 3rd that it has signed a business agreement with CMES, a company specializing in AI robotics software development, to cooperate in the AI robot logistics business, including a new investment of 10 billion KRW.
CMES is an AI robot vision startup that is revolutionizing robotic automation processes through artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D machine vision technology, leading the popularization of robots across various industrial sectors.
On the 28th of last month, SKT President Yoo Young-sang stated at a press conference held locally at MWC22 that they will actively promote robot-related businesses based on AI as part of connected intelligence.
Since investing 900 million KRW in CMES in September 2016, SKT has added an additional investment of 10 billion KRW this year, becoming the second-largest shareholder of CMES. Separately, CMES raised a total of 30 billion KRW in investments, including 20 billion KRW in November last year.
Since the second half of 2020, SKT has been preparing the ‘AI logistics loading and unloading robot’ business with CMES and has developed an ‘AI logistics loading and unloading robot’ capable of sorting irregularly shaped and sized products.
Through this agreement, SKT plans to accelerate the ‘AI logistics robot joint business’ by combining its own vision AI technology with CMES’s 3D vision and robot control technologies. The ‘AI logistics loading and unloading robot’ developed by combining the technologies of both companies currently demonstrates over 99.9% accuracy in sorting irregular products, securing global competitiveness.
Additionally, the ‘AI logistics loading and unloading robot’ developed by SKT and CMES can process more than 600 logistics boxes per hour, which is expected to help alleviate the overwork issues of logistics delivery workers and the shortage of logistics laborers, which have recently become social issues.
Going forward, SKT plans to form a business cooperation council with CMES to develop cooperation models in the AI robot business sector and to jointly pursue entry into not only the domestic logistics market but also the US market, the world’s largest logistics market.
Choi Nak-hoon, head of SKT Smart Factory CO, said, “Through this investment, we can collaborate more closely with CMES, which has competitiveness in 3D vision and precise robot control,” adding, “We will continue to contribute to the development of the AI robot industry, including logistics, and strive to help solve social challenges.”
Lee Sung-ho, CEO of CMES, said, “Through the business agreement with SKT, who has been with us since the early days of our startup, we can envision a greater future,” and added, “We will not only expand joint products in the domestic market but also enter the US logistics market to create a global success story.”
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