From Agricultural Machinery to Physical AI: Daedong Develops Unmanned Agricultural-Work Robots

[Financial News] Daedong is set to develop unmanned agricultural-work robots equipped with domestically produced artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors. The company is moving beyond conventional agricultural machinery manufacturing to secure autonomous agricultural-work technologies that combine AI and robotics, while accelerating the expansion of its “physical AI” business.
According to industry sources on the 9th, Daedong was selected as the lead research and development institution for the unmanned agricultural-work robot segment of the “K-On-Device AI Semiconductor Technology Development” project promoted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
The project will receive total funding of KRW 43.1 billion through 2030. Fourteen industry, academic, and research institutions, including Daedong, its affiliates, Mobilint, Rainbow Robotics, and Seoul National University, will participate.
The project’s core objective is to combine domestically produced AI semiconductors, unmanned agricultural-work robots, and autonomous agricultural-work AI solutions. Through this effort, the participants aim to develop technologies that can perform key agricultural tasks—including pest control, harvesting, transport, and crop monitoring—with minimal human intervention.
Drawing on its agricultural machinery development capabilities and data accumulated in actual farming operations, Daedong will oversee the overall technology integration, field demonstration, and commercialization of the project. Daedong Robotics will develop the agricultural-work robot platform, while the AI and agricultural-platform technologies of affiliates such as DAEDONG AGTECH will also be utilized.
The key AI system-on-chip (SoC) under development will process data collected by cameras and sensors directly within the device, rather than sending it to an external server. This will enable agricultural-work robots to perform autonomous driving, crop recognition, and obstacle avoidance in real time.
Daedong plans to secure the relevant core technologies and prototypes by 2028, then verify autonomous agricultural-work performance at actual farms beginning in 2029. The company intends to establish a foundation for commercialization based on the results of those field demonstrations.
The project is also connected to Daedong’s recently launched agricultural robotics business. Beyond autonomous-driving technologies for agricultural machinery, Daedong is focusing on developing technologies that use robots and AI to automate agricultural operations from cultivation through harvesting.
Won Yoo-hyun, vice chairman of Daedong, said, “This will be an opportunity to bring the intelligence and unmanned operation of agriculture to the next level by connecting AI semiconductors, robots, and autonomous-operation technologies into a single system.” He added, “We will contribute to helping South Korea’s agricultural physical AI technologies secure competitiveness in global markets.”

[email protected] Lee Jumi Reporter