Samsung revamps robotics operations for humanoid push, floats new 'HX' division

Samsung Electronics is preparing a major overhaul of its robotics operations by consolidating scattered teams into a dedicated organization, as it accelerates efforts to gain an edge in the rapidly intensifying race for AI-powered humanoid robots.

Samsung plans to establish a dedicated organization integrating its robot research and commercialization teams, according to industry sources and learned by the JoongAng Ilbo on Thursday. The teams are currently spread across the Future Robotics Office, Samsung Research's robotics unit and Global Technology Research, all under the Device eXperience (DX) Division.

The company is also considering elevating the new organization to a business division once it establishes an independent production line and secures profitability.

Alongside the restructuring, Samsung is expected to appoint a new head to replace Oh Joon-ho, who currently leads the Future Robotics Office. One name under consideration for the new organization is “HX” for “Humanoid Experience.”

“Demand for robots is expected to grow significantly not only in industrial settings such as factories but also across homes, restaurants, hospitals and long-term care facilities,” Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong said on June 29.

Samsung is also stepping up efforts to recruit key talent as it raises the profile of its robotics business. The company recently launched a large-scale internal job posting for DX Division employees, including three robotics-related positions.

It has also reportedly hired several senior-level executives from major global technology companies.

Ahead of the organizational integration and personnel reshuffle, Samsung's management diagnosis team under the corporate management office conducted a broad management review of the company's robotics organizations.

Industry observers expect Samsung-developed robots could be deployed on the company's own production lines as early as the second half of this year.

“We are prioritizing the robotics business to automate our manufacturing facilities,” Roh Tae-moon, head of the DX Division, said in January. “Building on the capabilities and technologies we develop there, we plan to expand sequentially from the business-to-business market to the consumer market.”

The company is also believed to have achieved significant technological progress internally.

Samsung recently succeeded in developing robot technology capable of assembling and inserting deformable objects, such as electrical cables, through Samsung Research.

Unlike transporting rigid objects, precisely manipulating and inserting objects whose shape continuously changes is considered one of the most technically challenging tasks in manufacturing robotics. Samsung has focused on developing robotic hand technologies and is reportedly advancing them to a level suitable for deployment in factories through continued refinement and training.

The company is also exploring ways to expand its robotics ecosystem.

“We are building capabilities to develop customized key robot components in-house that are optimized for our own robots,” Samsung said during its first-quarter earnings conference call. “We are pursuing a two-track strategy of internal development and partnerships with competitive companies. We will also actively consider investments and mergers and acquisitions when necessary.”

Kim Dong-won, an analyst at KB Securities, pointed out that Samsung Electronics' semiconductor fabs are themselves a “major asset.”

“Because the company can use behavioral data generated from real manufacturing environments worth an estimated 50 trillion won to 100 trillion won ($33.7 billion to $67.5 billion) for robot training, it will be able to deploy humanoid robots in industrial settings more quickly,” the analyst said.

BY LEE YOUNG-KEUN, KIM SU-MIN [[email protected]]