KT, Neubility will work on outdoor robots

KT and Neubility, a local robot delivery start-up, will develop autonomous driving robot businesses.

Lee Sang-ho, left, head of KT’s AI Robot business division, and Lee Sang-min, Neubility CEO, pose during a signing ceremony at KT's office building in Songpa District, southern Seoul. [KT]

KT and Neubility, a local robot delivery start-up, will develop autonomous driving robot businesses.

KT said Friday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Neubility for autonomous outdoor robot businesses. The goal of the agreement is to monetize autonomous driving robot services.

Founded in 2017, Neubility is a robotics software and hardware company based in Seoul. It specializes in a camera-powered autonomous driving system and runs a delivery robot service called "Neubie Go."

In May, the company signed an MOU with SK Telecom to develop a robot delivery service as well.

KT and Neubility will conduct joint research on robot service interfaces and develop a business model based on technologies and infrastructure. They will also work together to respond to robot service-related regulations.

KT will provide the 5G network infrastructure and its integrated robot control system, and also oversee the marketing of the service. Neubility will develop autonomous driving robots and business models.

KT’s robot-related services have been limited to indoor models such as quarantine robots and serving robots. With the signing of the MOU, the telecom company hopes to expand its business into outdoor services.

“This is a great opportunity for us to work with Neubility, a company with advanced autonomous driving technology based on data,” said Lee Sang-ho, head of KT’s AI Robot business division.

“We expect cooperation between the two companies to lead to new outdoor robot businesses in everyday life.”

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]