대동 DAEDONG

-. Rainbow Robotics’ humanoid technology will be combined with Daedong’s agricultural field expertise and data to commercialize agricultural robots.

-. The first prototype is complete, combining a humanoid upper body with an autonomous driving platform tailored to greenhouses.

-. Daedong will develop autonomous driving and agricultural task AI, while Rainbow Robotics will handle robotic arms and control technology to refine the commercial model.

-. Agroid is targeted for deployment in AI greenhouses in 2028 to gather field data and validate its performance and economic viability.

 

Daedong Group is accelerating the commercialization of Agricultural Physical AI technology through a partnership with Rainbow Robotics.

 

Daedong (Co-CEOs Kim Jun-Sik and Won Yu-Hyun), a leader in future agriculture, announced on August 13, 2026, that it will pursue joint development to commercialize ‘Agroid (AGROID)’, an agricultural humanoid robot, with Rainbow Robotics (CEO Lee Jung-ho).

 

 

Daedong Group began planning the development of agricultural robots for AI greenhouses early this year. It recently completed the first prototype by combining Rainbow Robotics’ humanoid upper-body platform with Daedong’s mobile base. Agroid is currently undergoing tests of real-world agricultural tasks, including tomato harvesting.

 

Development responsibilities will be divided according to the two companies’ strengths. Daedong will oversee development, while Daedong Robotics and Daedong AgTech will develop the autonomous mobile base platform and AI systems for agricultural tasks, including work-path generation, crop recognition and harvesting decisions. Rainbow Robotics will be responsible for robotic arms for harvesting, precision control systems, AI control and digital twin integration technologies. The two companies will jointly pursue certification and on-farm demonstrations.

 

Daedong Group and Rainbow Robotics plan to combine their respective agricultural field capabilities and robotics technology to respond proactively to a rapidly growing market. As the adoption of physical AI gains momentum, centered on the government’s three megaprojects, demand for AI- and robot-based automation is also increasing in agriculture, drawing attention to agricultural robots as a new growth market. Market research firm MarketsandMarkets projects that the global agricultural robot market will grow from USD 17.7 billion in 2025 to USD 56.3 billion in 2030, representing an average annual growth rate of 26%.

 

Daedong Group will use this collaboration as the starting point for building an agricultural robotics ecosystem, combining its agricultural field expertise and farming data with Rainbow Robotics’ robotics technology to pursue commercialization. In agriculture, working conditions vary by crop and environment, making field data and farming know-how just as important as robotics technology. This collaboration is significant because a robotics specialist and an agriculture specialist will work together from technology refinement through on-farm demonstrations, improving the prospects for commercializing agricultural robots.

 

Agroid builds on the strawberry-harvesting robot that Daedong Group showcased at CES 2025. Whereas the earlier robot focused on automating the harvest of a single crop, Agroid combines a mobile base that navigates greenhouses autonomously with a dual-arm humanoid upper body, aiming to perform a variety of agricultural tasks, including crop scouting, leaf removal, harvesting and transport.

 

 

The two companies will make a single robot platform more versatile by allowing end effectors to be swapped for different agricultural tasks, and focus on making the robot economically viable for farmers to adopt. They also plan to improve price competitiveness by developing specifications optimized for greenhouse work and localizing the production of key components in Korea.

 

Daedong aims to deploy Agroid as a core robot in the ‘4th-generation AI greenhouse’ in 2028. The greenhouse is being established in Jeollanam-do as part of the National Agricultural AX Platform project. The company plans to accumulate agricultural task data in an environment where AI and robots make the entire process—from cultivation and harvesting to distribution—autonomous, then pursue commercialization after validating the robot’s performance and economic viability.

 

The two companies held a signing ceremony for the joint development of ‘Agroid’ on August 13, 2026, at the Daedong Seoul Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Key attendees included Na Young-jung, Executive Vice President for Group Management at Daedong; Kang Sung-chul, CEO of Daedong Robotics; Choi Joonki, CEO of Daedong AILab; and Rainbow Robotics CEO Lee Jung-ho and CGO Jang Yoon-hyuk. Through the agreement, the two companies plan to define their cooperation framework for Agroid’s development and accelerate technological advances.