Shipbuilding Industry Introduces Humanoid Welding Robots To Workforce

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) and HD Hyundai Robotics have entered a partnership with embodied artificial intelligence specialist Persona AI and robotics integrator Vazil Company.

The collaboration will see the development of humanoid welding robots capable of performing the intricate welding tasks required in shipyard environments.

The four-party agreement was formalised through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and sets an ambitious timeline. Prototype humanoid robots are scheduled for delivery by the end of 2026, with extensive field-testing and full commercial deployment expected to commence in 2027.

Under the terms of the agreement, Persona AI will lead the development of the humanoid hardware and facilitate the creation of AI-based control systems and learning algorithms, which are crucial for high-precision welding. 

Vazil Company will focus on designing specialised welding tools and establishing an industrial testing environment to verify that the robots are rigorously vetted before full-scale deployment. 

HD KSOE will use its operational expertise by integrating the robots into real-world shipyard settings and sharing valuable field engineering data. 

HD Hyundai Robotics will contribute essential welding-path AI training data, as well as validate the robots’ performance.

Persona AI CEO, Nicolaus Radford, said: 

“As heavy industry faces growing labor constraints—especially in high-risk trades like welding—the need for rugged, autonomous humanoid robots is more urgent than ever. This partnership with HD Hyundai and Vazil is more than symbolic—deploying to the shipyard is one of the largest real-world proving grounds for Persona’s tough, humanoid robots”.

The introduction of these humanoid welding robots is particularly timely given recent reports that suggest between 50% to 60% of first-year shipyard employees leave within their initial year of employment. This high attrition rate has long prompted the industry to seek innovative solutions to mitigate labour shortages.

By developing robots that can observe, reason, and make decisions on the fly, the project transcends the capabilities of conventional, repetitive-task-oriented machines. As the industry grapples with both safety challenges and a dwindling skilled workforce, the successful integration of these advanced humanoid systems could herald a new era of collaboration between humans and intelligent machines in shipyards across the globe.

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