Tech validation hub opens at Cheongna logistics center in Incheon

Seven domestic and foreign tech firms, including LG CNS, join as partners

Automation to cover transport, sorting and picking across logistics operations

Unmanned operations pursued through robots, AI and digital twin technology

The interior of the TDL Lab, a robot- and AI-based logistics technology testing space set up by LX Pantos at the Megawise Cheongna Logistics Center in Incheon. [LX Pantos]
The interior of the TDL Lab, a robot- and AI-based logistics technology testing space set up by LX Pantos at the Megawise Cheongna Logistics Center in Incheon. [LX Pantos]

LX Pantos is accelerating the automation of its logistics centers using AI and robots. The company plans to verify technologies needed on the warehouse floor — from cargo transport and sorting to stacking — in partnership with seven domestic and foreign technology firms, then scale the results into full commercial operations.

LX Pantos announced Wednesday that it has opened the TDL Lab, a testing space for new logistics technologies, at the Megawise Cheongna Logistics Center in Incheon.

TDL is LX Pantos's technology-driven logistics framework that combines advanced technologies such as robots and AI to build operating models tailored to each customer's logistics environment. The newly opened TDL Lab will verify the real-world applicability of various automation technologies and design the operating methods needed to deploy them in actual logistics centers.

The focus goes beyond testing the performance of individual robots or automated equipment — the lab is designed to link multiple technologies together to improve the overall efficiency of logistics operations. The company aims to strengthen its competitiveness in the contract logistics business by shifting from a workforce-centered model to one in which robots and AI share the workload.

To that end, LX Pantos has been building a cooperative framework since April, signing a series of MOUs with seven domestic and foreign technology companies, including LG CNS, Hi Robotics and Livia-O Robotics.

Automated guided vehicles deployed at the Megawise Cheongna Logistics Center in Incheon sort small cargo items. [LX Pantos]
Automated guided vehicles deployed at the Megawise Cheongna Logistics Center in Incheon sort small cargo items. [LX Pantos]

In June, LX Pantos signed an agreement with LG CNS to build a next-generation smart logistics system, with plans to pursue automation by linking humanoid robots with shuttle robots. Under the envisioned setup, a shuttle robot retrieves items from the warehouse and hands them to a humanoid robot, which then carries them to a sorting facility.

The other partner companies each cover specific stages of the logistics process. Hi Robotics handles product storage and picking using automated guided vehicles, while Livia-O Robotics takes charge of automated cargo sorting. XYZ Robotics contributes robotic-arm technology for container loading and unloading and cargo palletizing and depalletizing, and SUM provides autonomous driving technology for moving cargo between floors. Tweeny covers product transport and picking via autonomous mobile robots, and Deepfine collaborates on automated inspection using image-recognition technology.

Eo Jae-hyeok, executive vice president of LX Pantos (fifth from left), Lee Jun-ho, executive vice president of LG CNS (sixth), and Park Sang-gyun, executive vice president of LG CNS (seventh), pose for a photo with other officials from both companies at a next-generation smart logistics MOU signing ceremony held June 1. [LX Pantos]
Eo Jae-hyeok, executive vice president of LX Pantos (fifth from left), Lee Jun-ho, executive vice president of LG CNS (sixth), and Park Sang-gyun, executive vice president of LG CNS (seventh), pose for a photo with other officials from both companies at a next-generation smart logistics MOU signing ceremony held June 1. [LX Pantos]

LX Pantos plans to form a "TDL Alliance" with these companies to validate the various technologies and apply proven solutions to logistics operations on a rolling basis.

Building on this collaboration, the company will also pursue the gradual unmanning and intelligent operation of its logistics centers. The plan calls for building warehouses where people and robots work side by side, using advanced technologies such as mobile robots, robotic arms, AI and digital twins, with a long-term goal of achieving full unmanned operations and AI-driven optimization.

"TDL is not simply about introducing automated equipment — the core is organically and efficiently integrating advanced technologies such as robots and AI across all aspects of logistics center operations, and tailoring that to each customer," said Eo Jae-hyeok, executive vice president and head of the contract logistics division at LX Pantos. "Through collaboration with a diverse range of technology companies, we will validate promising automation and intelligent solutions and gradually bring to life a future-ready logistics center operating model."

Meanwhile, LX Pantos has also been making its mark in the special cargo sector. Last month, the company successfully completed a large-scale air freight project, chartering aircraft to bring fresh eggs from the United States and Thailand to South Korea as part of the government's efforts to stabilize the domestic egg supply.

LX Pantos holds the Center of Excellence for Independent Validators Fresh (CEIV Fresh) and Center of Excellence for Independent Validators Pharma (CEIV Pharma) certifications issued by the International Air Transport Association, underscoring its recognized expertise in fresh cargo transport and cold-chain logistics.


kwater@heraldcorp.com