LG invests 9 billion won in a local robot maker

LG invests 9 billion won in a local robot maker. January. 13, 2018 07:55. by Dong-Il Seo dong@donga.com.

LG Electronics said Friday that it has invested 9 billion won in Robotis, acquiring a 10.12 percent stake (19,231 shares) of the local robot maker, which is known for the disaster relief robot “Thormang.” The Korean tech giant’s latest investment is expected to boost its research and development (R&D) activities in robotics, which the company sees as a future growth engine.

Set up in 1999, Robotis is recognized both at home and abroad for its proprietary actuators. Actuators are electric motors used in robot joints, which make robots to have higher joint elasticity and greater scope of movement. Robotis currently supplies actuators to both domestic and global tech companies. The Korean robot developer also offers hardware such as controllers and sensor modules as well as robot programming software.

“Last year, we teamed up with wearable robot startup SG Robotics. By integrating artificial intelligence and autonomous driving technology with robots, we will continue to expand robot products and enhance competitiveness in the segment,” an official from LG said.

LG recently unveiled three new concept models – serving, porter and shopping robots – at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas. Last year, the tech giant successfully piloted information and cleaning robots at the Incheon International Airport, which had been developed by the company with its self-driving and control technology and Internet of Things (IoT).