Selected for national project overseen by Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT)
Physical AI-based humanoid robot development gains momentum
Logistics centers across key regional hubs to serve as test beds
Company vows to lead future smart logistics market
Lotte Global Logistics announced Wednesday that it has been selected for the "2026 Robot Industry Technology Development Project," a government-funded initiative overseen by the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The project aims to develop a domestically built physical AI model for use in logistics operations, reducing reliance on foreign robots and AI models while establishing a foundation for AI and robotics technology independence in South Korea's logistics industry. The project runs from this year through March 2031.
Lotte Global Logistics is participating through the Manufacturing AX (M.AX) Alliance, an industry-government-academia-research consortium, and will collaborate with fellow alliance members Yujin Robot, Siseo and the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI). Lotte Himart, a fellow Lotte Group affiliate, will also join as a demand-side partner. The participating organizations plan to combine their respective expertise in robot hardware manufacturing, advanced AI algorithms and field validation to maximize synergies.
Lotte Global Logistics earlier deployed an AI-powered bipedal humanoid robot at its Jincheon Fulfillment Center last year, successfully demonstrating a workflow spanning clothing picking through poly-bag packaging.
Building on that experience, the company plans to dramatically expand the range of tasks humanoid robots can perform autonomously under the new project. The goal is for humanoid robots to independently carry out a continuous sequence of operations — from order confirmation and product picking, quantity verification, loading and transfer, barcode scanning, to packaging and sorter input.
The project goes beyond repeating single tasks, aiming to verify the feasibility of "fully autonomous continuous processing," in which humanoid robots independently handle an entire multi-step logistics workflow and respond to unexpected situations that may arise during operations.
Lotte Global Logistics will use logistics centers in Jincheon, Yangsan and Icheon — spanning key regional hubs nationwide — as test beds to maximize real-world effectiveness. Six workflows tailored to each site's environment are planned for demonstration: 3D sorter operations, picking and loading at Good-to-Person (GTP) stations, safety monitoring and patrol, small-item consolidation and packaging, spare-parts picking and inspection, and single-item parcel picking for small and mid-sized home appliances.
Through this effort, the company aims to complete a logistics automation solution ready for immediate deployment, significantly reduce human error inside logistics centers and raise the level of order-processing automation.
"This selection is national recognition of our AI expertise and field-proven technology," a Lotte Global Logistics official said. "As an innovator in logistics automation, we will continue to invest in research and development and lead the future smart logistics market."
Meanwhile, Lotte Global Logistics is actively expanding its global partnerships to grow its business reach. Chief Executive Kang Byung-gu attended the first multilateral summit between South Korea and five Central Asian nations, held in Seoul last month, where he shared insights on Central Asian market conditions and held in-depth discussions on practical logistics cooperation.
likehyo85@heraldcorp.com
