/ Samsung is going all-in on humanoid robots.
Letty Simone is an expert AI writer. She Covers AI news, reviews tools and updates the audience with the latest AI updates. She joined TheTweaks as an AI writer but Prior to TheTweaks she worked as an AI product tester at a business software company. She thinks that the majority of AI reporters represent the story wrongly and she has an aim to do it in a better way.
Samsung Electronics has taken its biggest step yet into the humanoid robotics market by announcing on Tuesday the creation of a new robotics unit under the direct supervision of the company’s chief executive. The new unit, named RX, which stands for “Robotics eXperience,” brings together Samsung’s various robotics projects in one place, indicating the South Korean tech giant, robotics has become a major part of the future, not a sideline.
According to the statement of Samsung, the RX unit will be responsible for the company’s mid to long term robotics strategy, core technology development, and business execution, and will also boost research capacity both domestically and internationally. Industry observers see the placement under the very eye of the CEO as an intentional effort to streamline decision-making processes. With a CEO-reporting setup, budget, hiring and deal decisions can be made quicker, allowing for the prototype to be built to the final product more quickly, with feedback from the real world
The new office will be located in the Samsung’s R&D Campus in Seoul’s southern district, where the company is expanding its offices, laboratories and other facilities for the development and commercialization of robots, and will be the company’s nerve centre. Samsung will also build a data center at its Gumi complex, where the real world data from the robots in the field will be sent back to the Seoul based teams to enhance the machine intelligence and control system.
What is significant in Samsung’s press release is the selection of its leadership. Lee Dong-kun, Executive Vice President, will become the leader of Samsung’s newly created Robotics Strategy Team that draws attention in the industrial community. Earlier, Lee had worked in a similar position in Hyundai Motor Group where he managed such companies as Boston Dynamics, the US robotics giant acquired by Hyundai in 2021.
The selection of the robotics strategist who actually worked with Boston Dynamics says a lot about Samsung. The company is apparently interested in practical experience of deployment instead of theoretical research. In other words, Samsung is looking for those technologies that are ready to be used instead of those that are still being studied in laboratories for many years.
Lee will not be building the team by himself. Samsung has also recruited two other professors, each having complementary expertise, to work with its research: Kim Hyoun-jin, a professor at Seoul National University who specializes in the intelligent autonomous robotic systems and robot control, and Kim Ui-kyum, a professor at Ajou University whose research focuses on robotic hands and manipulation technology. Kim Ui-kyum specializes in a topic that is important for humanoid robots hands and grippers that can grasp and reorient objects, which are crucial for humanoids to do in the real world.
Samsung isn’t limiting its ambitions to Korea. The company is looking to strengthen their competitiveness by investing in the spaces where robotics technology is moving so fast, through establishing research hubs in the U.S., China and Japan and tapping into local ecosystems and expertise.
On the technology front, Samsung is betting on the latest trend of ‘physical AI’ devices, which can bring together the AI reasoning with real world sensing and the physical sensing and acting of robots. The company plans to create humanoid robots for increased productivity and user friendliness, beginning in the manufacturing sector and then moving into the home and retail sectors.
The factory first approach is a strategic move. It allows Samsung to test its robots in a controlled, repetitive production process, where there’s a much easier way to measure productivity, before trying to tackle consumer environments. When robots enter the home and retail environment, success will be less about efficiency and more about softer attributes that consumers actually care about, such as safety, reliability and after-sales support.
Interestingly, Samsung was reportedly considering another name for the unit. The new organization was considered as “HX” or “Humanoid Experience” and the restructuring was to be accompanied by a new leadership to replace Oh Joon-ho, who was heading the company’s Future Robotics Office. The company finally landed on the RX branding, but the purpose of the rebrand is still the same: to centre humanoids at the heart of the reimagined brand.
Samsung’s leadership has been loud and clear about why now is the time to move. In late June, Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong said that the demand for robots is likely to surge not just in factories, but in homes, restaurants, hospitals and long term care facilities as well. It’s a much wider vision than the industrial automation theme that’s been a staple of robotics news for years, and it will set Samsung on a collision course with competitors such as Boston Dynamics, Hyundai’s newest robot arms, Tesla’s Optimus program, and an emerging group of humanoid robot startups.
The deal put Samsung right in the middle of one of the most competitive areas of consumer and industrial technology. In fact, it’s the very company that Samsung recently poached talent from, Hyundai has been on the offensive when it comes to owning humanoid aspirations. Hyundai unveiled an Atlas humanoid robot prototype at CES in January, and aims to scale production 30,000 units annually by 2028. It has also recruited the former leader of Tesla’s Optimus program as an adviser to strengthen its robotics and AI expertise.
Samsung is taking a leap into the robotics market, and indeed, the Korean tech giant has made it a growth priority, along with chips and smartphones, indicating that the next big consumer hardware category is going to be physical, standalone and increasingly humanoid.
The Samsung RX division does not just signify a change in the identity of the firm, but rather shows that Samsung is no longer riding the passenger seat of the field of humanoid robotics but a player in the game. Bringing in Lee Dong-kun from Hyundai’s Boston Dynamics program is a bold, attention grabbing move that should give anyone a sense that Samsung doesn’t care about this business being built slowly from the ground up. Combined with the academic expertise in robot control and dexterous manipulation, the new team has much more than a shiny executive hire.
What we will be watching closely is to see how quickly Samsung will get the factory floor pilots into something that a normal consumer could purchase and engage with at home. The factory-first approach is the smart strategy with a low risk, but the challenge, and the prize, is whether Samsung’s humanoids can eventually enter the living room or retail outlets, as Samsung’s phones and TVs lineup have already done. Though it’s a good strategic investment, it’s not a tried and tested product. We will continue monitoring as it progresses.
Tim Cook’s 15 years as Apple’s chief executive officially ended on September 1 and now the torch has been passed on to John Ternus, who is the company’s long-time hardware. It’s Apple’s first leadership change…
Be respectful and constructive. Have a question or feedback? We’d love to hear from you. Contact us at contact@thetweaks.com