The South Korean automotive components manufacturer Hyundai Transys will deploy “second-generation” autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) from Thira Robotics to automate the production floor flow at a factory in Alabama, the firm said today.
South Korea-based Thira Robotics says its T300 model AMRs are designed to navigate tough floors and imperfect facility conditions, unlike the majority of “industry-standard” AMRs in today’s market that are not optimized to handle such on-site challenges.
For example, Thira says its robots can climb or descend inclines of up to 10 degrees; roll over cracked, uneven, or dirty floors; manage multi-level navigation by riding elevators; and cruise through oil or grease spills without slipping. The T300 unit can carry 300 kg (660 pounds), and is part of a family of robots than can tote between 200 (441 pounds) and 1,000 kg (2,205 pounds).
Details of the deal were not disclosed, but Thira said the Alabama project marks their first U.S. implementation site and follows a successful pilot project. At the facility, the T300 units will transport carts to the production line and retrieve carts after unloading.
Hyundai Transys is a unit of Hyundai Motor Group that was formed in 2019 through the merger of Hyundai Dymos and Hyundai Powertech, two automotive components manufacturers of powertrains and seats. The company has about 10,000 employees and operates 33 facilities in 11 countries.
According to Thira, it selected the Alabama site for its initial U.S. implementation because local efforts to bring manufacturing jobs back from overseas have led Korean manufacturers to open new factories in Alabama. But the state's manufacturing industry has experienced a wave of mass layoffs, leading to a need for AMRs that can help increase employee productivity.
"Owners and engineers at brownfield warehouses and factories who could not implement AMR automation without investing tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars into retrofitting the floors can now save money on floor improvement and invest in automation, solving labor shortages that prevent them from meeting market demand," Thira CEO Peter Kim said in a release.
