LG CNS’ new robotics unit to accelerate Physical AI business

LG CNS CI

LG CNS Co., an information technology services and solutions provider under South Korea’s LG Group, launched a dedicated robotics unit. The move aims to help the company gain an early foothold in the emerging Physical Artificial Intelligence (AI) market, which is rapidly becoming a core area in next-generation AI.

The company plans to accelerate global expansion by developing a Robot Foundation Model (RFM) - the AI brain of robots - and offering integrated industrial AI robot services.

According to multiple sources from the information technology (IT) industry on Sunday, LG CNS recently reorganized its corporate structure under its chief technology officer (CTO) by establishing the Future Robotics Lab, a specialized robotics research center.

The lab will focus on strengthening the company’s robotics transformation (RX) capabilities. Its mission includes researching and developing full-cycle technologies essential to Physical AI such as RFMs, intelligent robot hardware, simulation technologies, and industrial data processing platforms.

Physical AI refers to AI embedded in physical devices like humanoid robots. An RFM is a general-purpose AI model trained in large-scale, sensor-based language, video, and image data to enable robots to autonomously make decisions and operate in diverse environments.

LG CNS plans to provide customized, optimized RFMs for clients in sectors including logistics centers, smart factories, and smart cities via the Future Robotics Lab.

It is also building a robot AI platform that allows companies to manage and operate their own RFMs. This all-in-one system encompasses data collection and refinement, simulation-based fine-tuning, and the operation and monitoring of trained models, enabling enterprises to independently run their RFMs.

LG CNS also renamed its existing Robot Service Offering Team under the Smart Logistics & City Business Division to the RX Innovation Team and expanded its role.

Leveraging its capabilities in warehouse automation, AI-powered picking robots, autonomous mobile robots, and automated guided vehicles, LG CNS aims to broaden its business into areas such as finance, retail, and public services.

LG CNS recently signed a strategic partnership agreement with U.S.-based AI robotics startup, Skild AI, marking the beginning of joint development of RFM-based industrial AI humanoid robot solutions.