Agibot X2, Unitree G1, and Leju Kuavo 4th Era Professional humanoid robots make their debuts in South Korea. Credit score: AW 2026
SEOUL — Good Manufacturing facility & Automation World, or AW 2026, opened yesterday. The occasion, which occupies your complete Coex venue and options 2,300 cubicles, is the biggest one in AW’s 36-year historical past, in keeping with the organizers. It was based because the Manufacturing Innovation Expo.
This 12 months’s theme of “Autonomy: the motive force of sustainability” displays the worldwide shift from manufacturing unit automation and digitalization to AI and robotics in a number of industries, they mentioned. They added that the objective is manufacturing “with higher intelligence, adaptability, and minimal human intervention.”
In his opening keynote, Jo Sang Hyeon, president of Coex, defined how AW‘s expo halls and session tracks have been organized round 5 themes or traits: good factories, industrial and collaborative robotics, machine imaginative and prescient and sensors, digital twins, and bodily AI together with humanoid robots.
“AW has grown considerably in each scale and high quality, evolving past Korea to grow to be one in every of Asia’s main exhibitions for manufacturing innovation,” he mentioned. “Particularly, this 12 months marks a serious shift towards AI and humanoid robots, positioning AW because the Korean model of CES, with representatives from throughout the business and greater than 100 media shops visiting the exhibition.”
Bodily AI brings self-learning methods to autonomous manufacturing
Many firms and panelists mentioned how synthetic intelligence is shifting from software program solely to enabling robots to function with higher flexibility within the bodily world.
“Transferring past software-centric purposes, generative and industrial AI are actually being embedded straight into robots, manufacturing amenities, and meeting traces – bringing intelligence straight into the bodily layer of producing,” famous the AW organizers.
“AW 2026 will function a platform presenting the path of the ‘Bodily AI period,’ the place AI strikes past software program and integrates straight with industrial environments.” said Sang Hyeon. “Coex will proceed strengthening its position as a worldwide industrial platform driving AI-powered manufacturing transformation and the enlargement of autonomous manufacturing methods.”
Within the new AI Manufacturing facility Pavilion in The Platz at Coex, exhibitors resembling POSCO DX, CJ Olivenetworks, and Doosan‘s Digital Innovation enterprise unit demonstrated the combination of imaginative and prescient AI, digital twins, and data-driven course of controls.
A separate corridor was devoted to machine imaginative and prescient methods for purposes starting from high quality inspection and robotic steerage to amassing knowledge for simulation and AI-aided choice making.
About 30,000 attendees got here to Coex in Seoul yesterday, Supply: AW 2026
Hyundai demonstrates ‘end-to-end’ logistics
Hyundai Motor Group, which each makes use of automation as a serious automaker and is a provider of automation, occupied a number of giant cubicles at AW 2026. Throughout the ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the occasion, its MobED platform introduced gloves to the business and authorities dignitaries.
Hyundai Robotics Lab‘s MobED had received the Better of Innovation award at CES 2026, and this was its first public look in Korea. The robotic has among the maneuverability of a quadruped and may carry a variety of payloads. Hyundai additionally introduced the MobED Alliance, which together with main Korean firms, to assist develop purposes for it.
Additionally debuting at AW was the humanoid robotic Atlas from Boston Dynamics, though it was not operational. Hyundai mentioned final 12 months that it plans to purchase “tens of hundreds” of robots from its Boston Dynamics unit.
As well as, Hyundai Glovis demonstrated its built-in AI-based automation and built-in tools controls with cellular robots from a number of distributors and an automatic storage and retrieval system (ASRS) from AutoStore. Hyundai Mobis introduced autonomous cellular robots (AMRs).
Different international firms exhibiting logistics and manufacturing prowess included industrial automation chief FANUC, force- and power-limited cobot maker Common Robots, and autonomous cellular robotic (AMR) supplier Geekplus Applied sciences.
Boston Dynamics’ Atlas made its Korean debut this week. Credit score: Eugene Demaitre
Humanoids make their Korean debuts
Along with Boston Dynamics and Atlas, T-Robotics publicly confirmed its humanoid robotic for the primary time in South Korea.
The China Humanoid Robotic Convention at AW 2026 addressed commercialization methods and international business traits. Daniel He, senior AI architect at Huawei, delivered a keynote addressing the evolution of embodied intelligence and potential purposes. Hyung-kwan Shin, CEO of the China Capital Markets Lab, moderated a panel to debate commercialization methods, worldwide cooperation, and the way forward for the humanoid sector.
Chinese language humanoid robots on show included the X2 and G2 fashions from Agibot, which claimed to be the world’s main humanoid robotics firm by way of international shipments and market share. They’re already in industrial use in China, an organization consultant informed The Robotic Report.
Unitree‘s G1 carried out pre-programmed martial arts strikes, whereas Leju‘s Kuavo 4th Era Professional walked round. G1 is meant as a analysis and growth platform, and Kuavo, which makes use of NVIDIA Isaac Sim and Jetson, is in industrial proofs of idea.
Semi-humanoid robots, with a human-like torso and a wheeled base, have been extra widespread sights than legged humanoids at AW 2026. DARWIN from Commonplace Robots was one instance.
A number of firms resembling Gosung Engineering and Mech-Thoughts confirmed cellular manipulators for duties resembling palletizing, machine tending, and conveyance of electronics and machine elements.
Korea affords business management, funding alternatives
Whereas 500 firms from 24 international locations sprawled throughout 5 halls at AW 2026, many have been primarily based in South Korea or have been from China, Japan, and the West with native divisions. In addition they mirrored evolving service and industrial robotics.
Authorities representatives mentioned authorized and monetary assist to encourage small and midsize producers to amass robots to be globally aggressive. By 2030, the Korean authorities needs to extend automation within the nation‘s factories by 10%. The audio system additionally cited public-private analysis and the chance for buyers.
The Korea Worldwide Commerce Affiliation hosted a 1:1 enterprise assembly, and a complete of 24 patrons from eight firms deliberate to facilitate conferences with taking part Korean firms. AW 2026 additionally included greater than 200 specialised convention classes round matters resembling AI in manufacturing.
AW’s organizers included Coex, the Korea Trade Intelligentization Affiliation, the Korea Good Manufacturing Workplace, the Korea Machine Imaginative and prescient Industrial Affiliation, Chomdan Inc., and the Korea Worldwide Commerce Affiliation.
