Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, left, smiles as he speaks during a town hall meeting to celebrate the renovation of the carmaker's headquarters lobby in Seoul, Thursday. On the right is Alexandra Villegas, a design director at Studios Architecture who led the project. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group

Hyundai Motor Group is signaling its broader transformation into a robot-friendly mobility firm by deploying a range of advanced service robots throughout the carmaker's renovated headquarters lobby.

The initiative aligns with the group’s much-touted vision to evolve into a physical artificial intelligence (AI) firm. At this year’s CES tech fair in January, the carmaker drew attention for presenting its robotics vision to become a leading physical AI player in the mobility sector.

The firm has introduced three robot services as part of its headquarters remodeling project: the DAL-e Gardener watering robot, DAL-e Delivery robot and the quadruped Spot security robot.

A redesigned central atrium of Hyundai Motor Group's headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group

DAL-e Gardener assists facility managers by autonomously watering plants placed throughout the lobby. Equipped with advanced sensors, the robot can recognize plants, soil and flower beds in three-dimensional spaces. Its robotic arm, capable of vertical movement and six-axis rotation, enables precise watering.

DAL-e Delivery transports beverages from the first-floor cafe to pickup zones on each floor. Employees can place orders through a mobile app, after which the robot autonomously delivers drinks to designated locations. It can carry up to 16 beverages simultaneously and uses facial recognition technology to verify recipients.

Spot, developed with the quadruped robotics platform from Boston Dynamics, has been integrated with Hyundai Motor Group’s autonomous driving module, enabling it to patrol the building independently and provide continuous security monitoring.

DAL-e Gardener waters a tree at Hyundai Motor Group's headquarters in Seoul. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group

To support the robot ecosystem, Hyundai Motor and Kia introduced robot-exclusive charging stations and elevators inside the building. The robots autonomously recharge at designated “robot stations” and move between floors without human assistance.

Source: Korea Times News