The Meeting of AI and Robots... Expectations Focused on Rainbow Robotics

Exploring Collaboration Plans with Robot Companies like NVIDIA and OpenAI
Humanoid Robot Commercialization to Accelerate with AI Advancement
Growth Expected for Rainbow Robotics Invested by Samsung

As artificial intelligence (AI) technology advances, it is expected to influence the growth of the robotics industry. Companies that have secured AI-related technologies, such as OpenAI and NVIDIA, are actively moving to integrate AI with robotics. In South Korea, there is growing anticipation that Rainbow Robotics, in which Samsung Electronics has invested, will rapidly grow.

According to the financial investment industry on the 22nd, Rainbow Robotics' stock price has risen 23% since the beginning of this month. Considering that the KOSDAQ index rose about 5%, the return rate compared to the market reaches 18 percentage points. Foreign investors led the stock price increase with a net purchase of 32 billion KRW.

The recent rise in Rainbow Robotics' stock price reflects expectations that the robotics market will grow rapidly. NVIDIA unveiled its robot integration project "GR00T" at the U.S. annual developer event (GTC 2024) keynote speech. GR00T refers to a general-purpose robot technology capable of performing various tasks like humans. Robots equipped with AI technology can observe human behavior and imitate movements. NVIDIA collaborates with most leading robotics companies. Lee Dongheon, a researcher at Shinhan Financial Investment, explained, "It is a project encompassing a cloud platform that supports AI robot design and operation simulation, as well as a low-power dedicated chipset 'Jetson Thor' that handles AI computations within robots," adding, "GR00T presents a new direction for AI robot learning."

OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, is collaborating with the robotics startup Figure AI. Recently, they released a video showing an AI robot conversing with a person, making autonomous decisions, and handling tasks. Figure AI raised $675 million (approximately 893.3 billion KRW) last month. Samsung and LG Group from South Korea also participated.

Lee said, "With the emergence of generative AI, the narrative is changing," and predicted, "Going forward, as robot interactivity increases, various possibilities regarding robot learning and domains will attract attention."

Earlier, the U.S. electric vehicle company Tesla released a video at the end of last year showing a bipedal robot picking up an egg and sitting down and standing up. The project started in April 2022 and showed development progress within 20 months.

The robotics industry believes that the commercialization of humanoid robots is not far off. With global big tech companies competing, the market is expected to grow rapidly. In South Korea, attention is focused on Samsung Electronics' moves regarding its investment in Rainbow Robotics. Rainbow Robotics will hold a shareholders' meeting on the 29th and appoint Jang Semyung, Vice President of Samsung Electronics, as an outside director on the board. Born in 1968, Vice President Jang joined Samsung Electronics' planning team last year after serving as Vice President of Samsung Global Research.

Rainbow Robotics was founded in 2017 by researchers from KASIT who participated in humanoid robot development. The company has secured technology capable of developing autonomous mobile robots (AMR) and quadruped robots. It is progressing with the internalization of robot components, including precision reducers. It has succeeded in internalizing key components such as encoders and controllers and is equipping some robots with in-house parts. Through component internalization, the cost of goods sold is expected to decrease, improving profitability. Last year, following Samsung Electronics' equity investment in Rainbow Robotics, various cooperation plans are being explored.

Lee Sangsoo, a researcher at Hi Investment & Securities, explained, "They can supply collaborative robots to Samsung Electronics or affiliated groups," adding, "In August last year, Rainbow Robotics signed a business agreement with Samsung Welstory to develop collaborative robots for meal preparation." He continued, "In addition to Samsung Electronics' soon-to-be-released wearable robot 'BotFit,' they may also participate in wearable robot product development," and added, "We can expect to see the integration of 'HUBO' technology into Samsung Electronics' own humanoid robot development."

Rainbow Robotics is expanding its production capacity using funds procured from Samsung Electronics. In May last year, it announced plans to expand a new factory in Sejong City. Its contract manufacturing partner, STS Robotech, is also expanding a new factory in the Daegu National Industrial Complex. The volume of contract manufacturing is expected to increase. Rainbow Robotics established a new sales corporation in Illinois, where many machinery and equipment companies are concentrated in the U.S. North America, along with Europe, is one of the regions with strong demand for collaborative robots.