Daedong to Lead 'K-On-Device AI Semiconductor' Unmanned Agricultural Robot Project

Selected as Lead Organization for Unmanned Agricultural Robot Sector
in Technology Development Project Supervised by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Daedong will participate as Korea's leading agricultural company in the domestic establishment of an on-device AI semiconductor ecosystem, a core technology for the robot and physical artificial intelligence (AI) era. On September 9, Daedong announced that it has been selected as the lead organization for research and development in the unmanned agricultural robot sector of the “K-On-Device AI Semiconductor Technology Development” project, which is overseen by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The project will be promoted with a total budget of approximately 43.1 billion won until December 2030, and it will involve 14 institutions spanning academia, industry, and research. The goal is to develop and integrate domestically produced AI semiconductors, unmanned agricultural robot platforms, and autonomous fieldwork AI solutions in order to realize unmanned operations for key agricultural tasks such as spraying, harvesting, transportation, and monitoring.

The “K-On-Device AI Semiconductor Technology Development” project is a national R&D initiative aimed at securing AI semiconductors required for the physical AI era—such as in robots, automobiles, and home appliances—using domestic technology and supply chains. Daedong is leading the initiative for the agricultural sector, specifically through the application of domestically produced AI semiconductors to agricultural robots and field demonstrations.

On-device AI is a technology that processes data directly on the device itself, enabling real-time recognition and decision-making without reliance on external servers. It is a core enabler of physical AI, allowing robots to independently understand and act within their environment. This is especially crucial in agricultural settings, where communication infrastructure can be limited and working conditions—including crops and terrain—are highly variable, making stable and autonomous operation of AI agricultural machinery and robots essential.

Daedong will oversee technology integration, demonstration, and commercialization for the overall project, leveraging its expertise in agricultural machinery development, operations, and deep understanding of agricultural fieldwork. In particular, Daedong will apply field data and advanced AI technology know-how accumulated through the sales and deployment of AI tractors to the development and demonstration of robots and AI in this project. The company plans to translate site-specific requirements—such as spraying and harvesting performance, work speed, and AI decision times—into product specifications for semiconductor and robot development, and to establish the system architecture and interfaces between the robot platform and AI solutions. Daedong intends to further expand related technologies from unmanned agricultural robots to its main product lines, including tractors, rice transplanters, and combines, thereby broadening the ecosystem for agricultural physical AI based on domestically produced AI semiconductors.

Yoo Hyeon Won, Vice Chairman of Daedong, said, “This project, which Daedong is leading, will connect AI semiconductors, robots, and autonomous work technologies to accelerate the intelligence and unmanned transformation of agriculture. Based on our extensive experience and technological capabilities accumulated in the agricultural field, Daedong will establish a new standard for future agriculture and contribute to enhancing the global competitiveness of Korea’s agricultural physical AI technologies.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.