From shipyards to steel: Why Korea leads humanoid deployment

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After humanoid robots took center stage in recent years' AI-driven hype, the critical challenge shifted to real-world deployment — with automotive assembly lines and logistics…

Persona AI exec highlights HD Hyundai, Posco alliances to put humanoids on factory floors

After humanoid robots took center stage in recent years' AI-driven hype, the critical challenge shifted to real-world deployment — with automotive assembly lines and logistics serving as the primary proving grounds.

Michael Perry, head of commercial strategy at Persona AI, however, argues that humanoid robots could have their greatest impact in heavy industries such as shipbuilding and steelmaking. He says they could deliver significant economic value while easing acute labor shortages in hazardous, complex environments where traditional automation falls short.

That focus has drawn Houston-based Persona AI to South Korea, home to industrial giants including HD Hyundai and Posco, where it aims to test how its robots perform in working industrial settings.

“I believe that for humans, heavy industry is going to be the place where the technology has the largest impact," Perry said during an interview with The Korea Herald on the sidelines of Humanoid Summit Seoul, where he delivered a keynote address.

"I think Korea also has all the right characteristics to be the first adopters of that technology.”

According to Perry, Korea offers a rare combination of “high need and high skill” — combining acute labor shortages in heavy industry with advanced digital, robotic and AI transformation capabilities required to deploy humanoid robots at scale.

To this end, Persona AI is collaborating with HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and HD Hyundai Robotics, with a bipedal humanoid prototype slated for deployment this year. The initial test aims to prove that a humanoid can navigate an unstructured shipyard, handle a standard welding torch, and produce consistent welds matching real-world production standards.

For the field testing in 2027, Perry said the goal is to enable the bipedal robot to walk autonomously while also integrating human teleoperation.

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