Hyundai Robotics, an affiliate of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, will join hands with Vodafone, Europe's largest telecommunications company, to preoccupy the European service robot market.

Hyundai Robotics announced on the 31st that it has signed a Letter Of Intent (LOI) for joint development of 5G and 6G-based service robots with Vodafone at the Hannover Messe 2022 in Germany on the 30th.

Through this business cooperation, Hyundai Robotics and Vodafone plan to develop 5G-based next-generation service robots together and conduct joint marketing to preoccupy the European market. Hyundai Robotics applies Vodafone's 5G, AI, and big data technologies to its service robot's hardware and autonomous driving software.

Service robots are serving, quarantine, and cleaning robots, and are mainly used in large hotels, exhibition halls, and hospitals. Since environmental data is collected through cameras and sensors, high-speed communication technology is essential for rapid information processing.

Based on Vodafone's 5G communication infrastructure, Hyundai Robotics will upgrade its control system that simultaneously controls multiple robots and install it on service robots. The system enables real-time data exchange between robots, enabling efficient team-level cooperation of robots, such as artificial intelligence distributing tasks without human intervention or preventing duplicate work.

The two companies plan to test-run quarantine robots at university hospitals in Germany first, and expand and supply 5G-based service robots that perform work in various environments such as restaurants, hotels, and nursing facilities in the future.

In addition, Hyundai Robotics is speeding up its entry into the European market by signing letters of intent to purchase a total of 600 units at the Hanover Industrial Fair, including Spanish robot company Mozo Robotics and Dutch robot company ROBOTART, 300 units each.

Seo Kyung-seok, head of Hyundai Robotics' service robot division, said, "We will make efforts to promote the development of European service robots and lead the market by combining Hyundai Robotics' service robots and 5G communication technology."

"By applying 5G communication technology to service robots, service robots will respond to the environment and share information in real time in our daily lives, allowing optimal cooperation," said Michael Reinartz, head of Vodafone's innovation division.