HD Hyundai Mipo has successfully achieved “24-hour fully autonomous production” of shipbuilding crane lug plates using artificial intelligence (AI) technology and robots, a first in the Korean shipbuilding industry. As HD Hyundai Heavy Industries accelerates the development of ship MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) robots, and HD Hyundai Samho begins developing custom quadrupedal walking humanoid welding robots for the shipbuilding industry, the HD Hyundai Group is committed to creating a “robot super gap”.
Shipbuilding cranes are core lifting equipment in the ship manufacturing field, primarily used for hoisting and installing heavy components like hull blocks during ship construction. The lug plate (Lug) is a key component in cranes and other heavy equipment used to connect slings and lifting gear, mainly serving a load-bearing and securing function to ensure equipment stability and safety. Previously, HD Hyundai Mipo invested significant manpower to produce 1,800 tons of lug plates annually in-house.
The new autonomous manufacturing system established by HD Hyundai Mipo utilizes AI technology, 8 industrial robots, and 2 Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) to automatically produce various forms of lug plates 24 hours a day, even without human intervention. It is estimated that by using AI technology and robots, and based on integrated data from design to production, HD Hyundai Mipo can fully automatically produce the key shipbuilding crane component, the lug plate, potentially saving 470 million Korean Won (approximately 2.35 million RMB) in costs per year.
Since 2021, HD Hyundai Mipo has introduced 14 industrial robots and 23 collaborative robots into its shipbuilding sites, innovating production methods using various digital technologies and accelerating the construction of a future-oriented smart shipyard. In May of this year, HD Hyundai Mipo signed a “Four-party Cooperation Agreement for Industrial Site Humanoid Robot Verification Technology Development” with Hyundai Robotics, the humanoid robot startup A-robot, and Hanyang University to advance the technological development and application verification of humanoid robots in shipbuilding production scenarios, aiming to accelerate the R&D and deployment of humanoid robots suitable for the shipbuilding industry.
Furthermore, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is also promoting the development of ship MRO robots. Reports indicate that if 10% of the hull area is covered with biofouling like seaweed and barnacles, the hull surface roughness increases, leading to higher water flow resistance during navigation. Data shows that severe fouling can increase a ship’s fuel consumption by 40% and reduce its speed by 5%-10%. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries plans to use AI robots to replace marine organism removal and repainting work that relies on skilled laborers. This is expected to not only improve ship MRO efficiency by over 80% but also effectively reduce safety accidents.
In July this year, HD Hyundai Samho also signed the “Agreement for Development and Demonstration of In-shop Quadrupedal Walking Humanoid Robots for the Shipbuilding Industry” with Hyundai Robotics and the German humanoid robot company NEURA Robotics. The three parties will collaborate to develop custom welding robots for the shipbuilding industry. Additionally, in September this year, HD Hyundai Samho signed a business cooperation agreement (MOU) with Hyundai Robotics and LG CNS, an IT solutions company under the LG Group, for the joint development of “humanoid robot and logistics automation technologies to enhance safe process operation and efficiency”. This involves developing humanoid robots applicable to various production activities like welding, measurement, forming, and control, and building a shipyard logistics automation system using Autonomous Mobile Robot technology, thereby accelerating the pace of constructing a future-oriented smart shipyard.
