“Beep, emergency situation. The quadruped robot will stop its current task and be deployed for on-site inspection.”

On 7 May, an alert signaling an unexpected situation rang out in LG CNS’s robot demonstration hall at LG Science Park in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. As the sound was heard, a quadruped robot that had been waiting to receive items from a conveyor belt immediately moved to the location requiring inspection, going up and down stairs to check for any issues. At the same time, the integrated control system identified an available robot to replace the quadruped robot and redistributed the work, and a logistics robot that had been idle temporarily took over the task. All of these processes were carried out autonomously by the RX (Robot Transformation) platform without human intervention.

The 15-minute robot demonstration showcased a future “dynamic factory.” A dynamic factory goes beyond a “dark factory,” in which all processes are automated, to a plant with greatly enhanced flexibility that allows real-time changes to robots’ tasks. At the press conference, LG CNS unveiled its “Physical Works” platform, which is intended to drive RX (Robot Transformation), and stated that it aims to make tangible achievements within two years.

The goal of LG CNS’s Physical Works platform is a robot system that can be deployed immediately on factory floors. Regardless of the robot’s form factor or manufacturer, the company intends to provide an end-to-end service covering robot training, large-scale operation, and performance measurement. The Physical Works platform consists broadly of “Physical Works Forge,” which handles robot training, and “Physical Works Baton,” which is responsible for integrated control and coordination of robots.

The demonstration featured four types of robots—biped, quadruped, wheeled, and logistics robots—all manufactured by different companies. Physical Works Baton is a control system that enables these robots to be operated within a single framework, regardless of manufacturer or robot type.
Because the most efficient robot form factor differs depending on the type of task, it has been difficult to use multiple robots together in a single process under existing systems, as each robot has different data formats and operating methods. A key feature of Physical Works Baton is that it standardizes data irrespective of robot type so they can be operated within a single system. Based on 100 robots, applying Physical Works Baton can increase productivity by about 15% and reduce operating costs by up to 18%.

Park Sang-yeob, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of LG CNS, who explained the platform on the day, said, “Currently, attention is focused on the intelligence embedded in a single robot, but in the future, an era of robot swarm intelligence will come, where hundreds or thousands of robots move under a single intelligence.”

Physical Works Forge is an end-to-end service that supports the entire cycle from data training to on-site deployment. It trains robots using multiple learning methods such as teleoperation (remote human control), human work videos, and simulations. This can shorten the time from training to field deployment from several months to one to two months. LG CNS CEO Shin-won Hyun said, “The competitiveness of RX now lies not in the performance of individual robots, but in establishing an integrated system.”

The company also plans to accelerate investment to expand its business. Hong Jin-heon, Head of Strategy at LG CNS, said, “We plan to complete additional RX-related investments within a month,” adding, “We are also reviewing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to strengthen our manufacturing capabilities.” LG CNS has previously invested in Physical AI company Skilled AI and U.S. robot hardware company Dexmate.

Popular News