[Edaily Reporter Han Kwangbeom ] #Samsung SDS is actively expanding the scope of its AI Transformation (AX) from the digital realm to the physical manufacturing environment—known as Physical AI—and has launched an all-out push into the RX (Robotics Transformation) business, aiming to transform the major production lines of the Samsung Group.
Samsung SDS announced on the 8th at the “REAL Summit 2026” Enterprise AX Conference held at the COEX Convention Center in Seoul that it established the “RX Business Team” and “RX Execution Team” within its Cloud Services Division last June to lead the automation and intelligent transformation of actual physical sites, going beyond the digital innovation of large-scale manufacturing processes.
This entry into the RX business is built on a solid foundation of data and experience accumulated over the past 25 years as Samsung SDS has built Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and automated facilities and logistics for approximately 430 clients across national core industries—including semiconductors, rechargeable batteries, and biotechnology—as well as in the automotive, materials, components, and food and beverage sectors.
In his keynote speech, Lee Jun-hee, CEO of Samsung SDS, emphasized, “Samsung SDS aims to expand the scope of AX beyond the digital realm into the physical realm as well.” He added, “While interest in RX has been growing recently, RX cannot be achieved with robots alone; it is absolutely essential to continuously improve the performance of robots on the shop floor and raise their quality to human-level standards.” He went on to announce, “Samsung SDS will unveil a ‘Robot Orchestration Platform’ in 2027 that integrates production facilities and robots into a single operating system.”
“Robot Orchestration” is a technology that integrates and controls robots from different manufacturers within a factory using a single software platform, coordinating their organic movements in real time much like an orchestra conductor. It not only designs optimal movement paths to prevent collisions between heterogeneous robots with different functions—such as packaging, assembly, and cargo transport—but also acts as a “central control system dedicated to robots.” If a specific robot malfunctions, the system detects it in real time and issues detour instructions to other robots to prevent the entire factory from coming to a halt.
◇Replacing Manual Production Lines with General-Purpose Robots… Miracom MES Integrated with 430 Client Companies
Samsung SDS unveiled its specific target markets and business roadmap at a press conference. Ahn Dae-jung, Head of Digital Factory at the Cloud Services Business Division and CEO (Vice President) of Miracom I&C, stated, “The market we are focusing on most is that of Samsung’s manufacturing affiliates, where we have built over 1,000 production lines to date,” and “While some lines have a high level of automation, we will prioritize automating and replacing lines that rely heavily on manual labor with general-purpose robots,” he explained.
He continued, “At the same time, we will focus on meeting the demand for automation and the replacement of hazardous and manual tasks at approximately 430 external manufacturing clients currently operating on MES solutions deployed by Miracom I&C in Korea,” and added, “In the global market, we will pursue a strategy of providing both MES and robots, targeting the U.S. market—where demand for robots is highest—as reshoring takes place after 45 years without manufacturing activity.”
The company is also accelerating the establishment of a hardware and software ecosystem through global partnerships. Samsung SDS has formed the “Team REX (Robotics EXcellence)” robotics partnership, which includes 10 leading global physical AI companies—such as Rainbow Robotics, Walden Robotics, Airobot, and N.DotLight—to standardize interoperability interfaces between different robots and establish common performance standards.
In particular, the company has entered into a strategic investment and partnership with “Waldon Robotics,” a full-stack physical AI company founded by researchers from the Toyota Research Institute (TRI), and will work together to identify key use cases in manufacturing environments and validate technologies.
Russ Tedrake, CEO of Walden Robotics, stated in a video message, “As a spin-off of the Toyota Research Institute, we have a deep understanding of Toyota’s exceptional manufacturing capabilities and the elements required to deploy robots in real-world environments; currently, our robots are operating daily on the actual production floors of Toyota’s factories.”
He added, “While physical AI is a disruptive innovation in manufacturing, large-scale field deployment capabilities and a deep understanding of the business are essential to applying it to actual production sites and generating measurable results,” expressing his enthusiasm by saying, “We are very pleased to partner with Samsung SDS, which possesses the best capabilities in this field.”
◇ “Korea-U.S.-China Tripartite Partnership” Launched… Focus on Human-Level Quality Tuning Capabilities
Regarding the expansion of the global technology ecosystem, the gap with Chinese robotics technology, and potential cooperation strategies, Vice President Ahn Dae-jung stated, “China possesses exceptional cost competitiveness and quality standards in robotics hardware, particularly in hand and end-effector technologies.” “We have already established a strategic partnership with ‘WOOJI Hand,’ a top-tier global robotics hand manufacturer, and plan to actively utilize their technology for delicate manual tasks on the manufacturing floor,” he added.
Regarding the level of domestic technology, he emphasized, “While Korean robotics companies lag somewhat behind the U.S. and China in terms of robot body hardware itself, they possess a strong advantage in the technology to integrate robots into manufacturing lines, verify their performance, and fine-tune them to deliver human-level performance and quality,” adding, “Samsung SDS will also concentrate its efforts by leveraging these three pillars: partnerships in Korea, China, and the U.S.”
CEO Lee Jun-hee remarked, “Robot technology itself is similar to that of humans; for a factory to operate smoothly, the key is to organize work processes and ensure effective coordination and collaboration among robots when they are working together.” He added, “Based on the wealth of data and experience accumulated over the years in manufacturing environments, Samsung SDS is focusing on validating robot-based manufacturing automation and end-to-end process operation technologies.”
He further emphasized, “By combining the manufacturing expertise and robot orchestration technology we’ve accumulated over 25 years with world-class physical AI robot technology, we will actively support our manufacturing clients’ successful autonomous manufacturing innovations.” He added, “Based on our unrivaled multidimensional AI full-stack and global ecosystem, we will serve as a reliable partner on our clients’ journey to success, extending beyond the digital realm into the physical domain.”
