Sonideu Acquires 50% Stake in Defense Korea for Domestic Production of Recoilless Water Cannon... "Full-Scale Robot Business Launch"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] SonyD, a KOSDAQ-listed company, announced on the 31st that it has acquired a 50% stake in DefenseKorea, a specialized domestic company in counter-terrorism equipment and robot localization that has domestically produced a recoilless water cannon, and will officially enter the robot business.

In May, SonyD signed a business agreement with Hurim Robot to promote inspection robot smart logistics and diversify advanced businesses, marking the start of its robot business. In September, it established its subsidiary Sony Robotics to lay the foundation for expanding its robot business. Through this acquisition of DefenseKorea, SonyD has further strengthened its competitiveness by securing recoilless water cannon technology mounted on robots.

DefenseKorea, a venture company established in March last year, is striving for localization of robot equipment. Its self-developed KD-101 is a recoilless water cannon with a recoil absorption rate of 99%, which can be mounted and utilized on robots.

The recoilless water cannon demonstrated 99% recoilless performance with only 3.99mm recoil in an official performance test conducted by the Explosive Technicians Association. The test involved firing from a tripod over 50m high with the water cannon aimed downward at an angle of over 15 degrees, meeting the Ministry of National Defense’s foreign procurement specifications. In July, it received a nationally certified test report and obtained national certification.

In addition, DefenseKorea is introducing domestically products such as explosive disposal robots, X-ray systems, and communication control equipment, which have been 100% imported, in cooperation with excellent overseas companies. These products have obtained KC certification, enabling supply to the military and police, and the company is focusing on localization efforts.

Sony Robotics also possesses explosive and hazardous material detectors equipped with nano composite sensors for explosive detection. The nano composite sensor for explosive detection overcomes the limitations of existing detection methods such as biological, imaging equipment, and compound analysis, and is cutting-edge technology capable of detecting minute amounts of explosives non-contactly. In the future, it can be applied to a wider range of civilian businesses such as hazardous gas, synthetic drugs, fire alarms, and airport screening. Sony Robotics plans to actively mount the nano composite sensors for explosive detection on robots in cooperation with robot developers.

Choi Simyeong, CEO of SonyD, said, “Both Sony Robotics and DefenseKorea have robot equipment technologies that add-on functions such as explosive detection and removal through quadruped robots,” and added, “Our company will continue steady growth in the robot business field based on the manufacturing competitiveness of these companies’ robot equipment.”