Hyundai E&C Executives Head to Beijing to Explore Construction Robots

Top executives at Hyundai Engineering & Construction (000720.KS), including CEO Lee Han-woo, are traveling to China with Hyundai Motor Group to study the country's robotics industry firsthand. The trip follows the company's earlier move to apply Hyundai Motor Group's robot technology at construction sites, and aims to gauge how robots can be put to practical use on the job by examining China's robot technology and real-world applications.

Hyundai E&C said on the 20th that Lee and other C-level executives are visiting Beijing from that day through the 22nd, a three-day trip. They plan to observe the World Robot Conference (WRC) and review the latest technology trends and industrial ecosystem in China's robotics sector.

The visit was arranged at the Hyundai Motor Group level. Hyundai Motor is accelerating efforts to bring robot technology to industrial sites, developing the humanoid robot Atlas through its robotics subsidiary Boston Dynamics. Last year, senior executives including Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Chang Jae-hoon visited the WRC to examine Chinese robotics firms, which are seen as leading the field in commercialization. This year the group is expanding the effort to major affiliates, and for Hyundai E&C, which handles the construction business, the trip is expected to be an opportunity to see how Chinese robot technology can be used at construction sites.

China is seen as rapidly spreading robots across actual industrial sites, drawing on price competitiveness, a parts supply chain and large-scale manufacturing capacity, on top of its technology development. As a wide range of robots — including humanoids and machines for logistics, manufacturing and services — enters the commercialization stage, the center of competition is shifting from the technology to build robots to the technology to actually use them.

That is where Hyundai E&C is focusing its attention. Unlike a car factory, a construction site does not have a fixed working environment, and its layout keeps changing depending on the process. As a result, what matters is not only a robot's own performance but also the autonomy that lets it move and work on its own in irregular environments and link up with other equipment. Which robots China is actually deploying on-site, and how it is raising operational efficiency, are expected to be Hyundai E&C's main interests.

Hyundai E&C is already ramping up its use of construction robots. At the "The H Classt" site in Seocho-gu, Seoul, it worked with the Hyundai Motor and Kia Robotics Lab to introduce the "X-ble Shoulder," which supports workers' upper-body strength, for the first time at a construction site during interior woodwork. The device is meant to ease the burden of working with arms raised overhead for long periods. The company is also applying a range of smart construction technologies at its sites, including water-spraying drones, autonomous robots and logistics transport robots.

The use of robots is also expanding at residential sites such as apartment complexes. Recently, the company has begun building robot-friendly residential complexes where robots can travel into apartment interiors using shared entrances and elevators. In the contractor selection for the Apgujeong districts 2, 3 and 5, it drew a strong response from union members by putting "Robotics Life" front and center. Hyundai E&C stressed that mobile robots would deliver parcels and food directly, while parking robots would assist with vehicle parking and electric-vehicle charging. Safety robots patrol the complex and respond as needed to abnormal situations such as fires, detecting the site and putting out the flames themselves. The company is also developing a system in which parking robots combined with artificial intelligence (AI) automatically park cars for residents when they arrive at the parking lot. A Hyundai E&C official said, "At a construction site, if robots move materials in advance before work begins, workers only have to handle their assigned tasks, which can further shorten the construction period," adding, "Shortening the period will boost cost competitiveness by that much."

Hyundai E&C expects the China trip to go beyond simply experiencing Chinese robot technology and to serve as a chance to take such hands-on experience to the next level. If China's robot manufacturing and application technology is combined with the robot hardware and AI technology that Hyundai Motor Group holds, there is a possibility of developing new robot models that can be used at construction sites.

In particular, robots are becoming more important in the construction industry as a way to address labor shortages, an aging workforce and safety accidents. The goal is to raise construction productivity by having robots take over simple repetitive tasks or dangerous work, while people focus on high-value work such as judgment and management.

Hyundai E&C's latest move is read as an effort not just to bring Hyundai Motor Group's robot technology into the construction field but to find "practical applications" in China's robotics industry. Whether it will lead to technology cooperation with Chinese robotics firms, equipment adoption or joint demonstrations is also drawing interest.

An industry official said, "Construction sites are a prime example of an industry where robot automation is harder than in manufacturing," adding, "Since the key is not the robot technology itself but how stably it works at an actual site and whether it can secure productivity relative to cost, it is worth watching what changes Hyundai E&C's visit to Chinese sites will bring to its robot strategy going forward."

Meanwhile, the WRC, which opened on the 19th in Beijing's Yizhuang Economic-Technological Development Area, marks its 11th year. Running through the 23rd, it features about 300 participating companies, up 36% from a year earlier, and more than 2,000 robots on display. From the 22nd through the 26th, a humanoid robot sports event will be held at Beijing's National Speed Skating Oval, expected to serve as a venue to review the robots' various technical capabilities.