Defense Korea, a subsidiary of SonyD (CEO Oh Jung-geon), a KOSDAQ-listed company, announced on the 19th that it is scheduled to sign a Partnership Agreement with PIAP, the robotics division under the Polish state-owned research institute, and that consultations will be completed within the first half of the year.
Through this agreement, both parties plan to closely cooperate to participate in Korean national projects. They also intend to jointly apply for international cooperation R&D projects supported by the Korean government to expand business collaboration between Korea and Poland.
They have also agreed to establish a joint R&D and production system in Korea upon request from the Korean government and institutions. Through this, some mechanical parts or accessories such as batteries for PIAP robots will be produced in Korea to promote the localization of robot technology. Establishing a production base in Korea is expected to enable ▲cost reduction in production ▲quick response to domestic market demands ▲business expansion to the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
Defense Korea has been exclusively distributing mobile EOD robots manufactured by PIAP in the Korean market since 2021, establishing a relationship. In August last year, they signed an 'exclusive partnership agreement' and have been cooperating in negotiation, contract execution, and maintenance within the Korean market. Additionally, in April last year, they signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with PIAP for joint development of industrial accident prevention AI robots as well as military and police robots.
Both parties have cooperated in promoting disaster prevention robots, AI robots, and unmanned combat robots to various local governments. Defense Korea also opened a PIAP robot showroom in Seoul, exhibiting four types of PIAP robots and conducting marketing activities targeting the Korean government and defense industry officials.
PIAP is a state-owned scientific research institute with over 50 years of history located in Warsaw, Poland, specializing in automation and robotics. It employs more than 250 staff members, including researchers in information technology, robotics, security, telemetry, and artificial intelligence. To date, it has successfully completed over 100 international projects and operates in about 24 countries worldwide, including Korea, Indonesia, Italy, and Romania.
A representative from Defense Korea stated, "We are focusing on developing PIAP robots categorized by their intended use such as firefighting, industrial, and defense purposes, and we expect to further strengthen cooperation in domestic robot distribution and after-sales service for military units between the two companies." They added, "We plan to closely collaborate with Korean partners who possess integration and interworking capabilities and solutions with PIAP robots."
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