Daedong's strawberry harvesting robot [Daedong]
Daedong's strawberry harvesting robot [Daedong]

Daedong's lower drive unit paired with Rainbow's humanoid upper body — first prototype complete

Samsung Electronics subsidiary Rainbow to handle robotic arms, precision control

Daedong targets deployment in fourth-generation AI greenhouse by 2028

Daedong Group is teaming up with Rainbow Robotics to accelerate the commercialization of agricultural physical AI technology. Under the partnership, Daedong will develop the lower-body drive unit of the humanoid robot while Rainbow Robotics handles the precision control system.

Daedong announced Thursday that it will jointly develop the agricultural humanoid robot "Agroid" with Rainbow Robotics, with the goal of bringing the machine to commercial use.

Daedong Group began drawing up development plans for agricultural robots suited to AI greenhouses earlier this year. It has since integrated Rainbow Robotics' humanoid upper-body platform with Daedong's lower drive unit, completing a first prototype. Agroid is currently undergoing real-world farming tests, including tomato harvesting.

Development responsibilities are divided according to each company's strengths. Daedong leads overall development, with subsidiaries Daedong Robotics and Daedong AgTech handling the autonomous-driving lower platform, work-path generation, and crop recognition and harvest-decision AI systems. Rainbow Robotics is responsible for the harvesting robotic arms, precision control systems, AI control and digital-twin integration technology. Certification and field validation will be pursued jointly.

The two companies plan to combine Daedong's agricultural field expertise and operational data with Rainbow Robotics' robotics technology to get ahead of a rapidly growing market.

Daedong Group is treating this collaboration as the starting point for building an agricultural robot ecosystem, pursuing commercialization by applying Rainbow Robotics' technology to farming environments and crop data. Agriculture is a field where working conditions vary by crop and environment, making on-site data and farming know-how just as important as the robotics technology itself. The partnership is significant because a robotics specialist and an agricultural specialist are jointly advancing the effort from technology development through field validation, raising the prospects for commercial deployment.

Daedong has set a target of deploying Agroid as a core robot in the "fourth-generation AI greenhouse" to be established under South Jeolla Province's national agricultural AX platform project in 2028. The company plans to accumulate farming operation data in a fully autonomous environment covering cultivation, harvesting and retail distribution, verify performance and economic viability, and then move to commercialization.

"Agroid is the core product of Daedong Group's agricultural physical AI — a robot that learns from real farming data and carries out actual agricultural tasks based on AI judgment," said Won Yu-hyeon, CEO of Daedong. "Through collaboration with leading robotics companies in the physical AI market, we will build a robot lineup spanning autonomous farming machinery, field robots and Agroid, and accelerate the pace of agricultural AX in South Korea."

The two companies signed a joint development agreement for Agroid at Daedong's Seoul office in Seocho-gu on Thursday. Senior officials from both sides attended, including Daedong Group Management Vice President Na Yeong-jung, Daedong Robotics CEO Kang Seong-cheol, Daedong AI Lab CEO Choi Jun-gi, Rainbow Robotics CEO Lee Jeong-ho and GCO Jang Yun-hyeok.

Daedong's strawberry harvesting robot [Daedong]
Daedong's strawberry harvesting robot [Daedong]

Meanwhile, market research firm MarketsandMarkets projects the global agricultural robot market will grow from $17.7 billion in 2025 to $56.3 billion by 2030, posting a compound annual growth rate of 26 percent.


hong@heraldcorp.com