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  • 기자명 Helen
  • Biz
  • Published 2021.05.28 06:01

[Korea Pack 2021 interview] Twinny CEO boasts its world-class robot technology... Promises to focus on its key competencies

Interview video of Cheon Young-seok, CEO of Twinny | Filmed and edited by AVING News

“The US already uses robots for logistics.Korea might have a late start, but its autonomous driving technology is notbehind at all. Twinny can be used in wide and complex environments, so itspotential to be the top robot in the global market is high!”

AVING News met Cheon Young-seok, CEO ofTwinny at KOREA MAT 2021 & ICPI WEEK 2021 held at KINTEX on May 27. He wasfull of confidence throughout the interview.

He answered over 10 questions withouthesitation. He was that much into his company and the brand. Also as the headof the company that has more than 90 employees, he was present at theexhibition booth to welcome every person who visited the booth.

In this exhibition, Twinny showcased bothNarGo and TarGo, its flagship models. Since the incorporation in 2015, theautonomous robot company Twinny currently has about 90 employees, andtwo-thirds of the researchers have doctorate or master’s degree from KAIST. Itsflagship autonomous robots are NarGo 100, Nargo 60, and Nargo 500. And, alsowith TarGo 100 and TarGo 300, the object-tracking robots that follow people, itis leading the autonomous robot market in Korea.

Recently, the company has made itsautonomous robots more useful by developing its robot platform TARP and TARASservice. For reference, TARAS is a multi-robot allocation system which providesthe most optimized robot service that automatically finds the location anddelivers goods.

At the KOREA PACK Special & ICPI WEEK2021 exhibition hall, AVING News met Twinny’s CEO Cheon Young-seok for aninterview.

Twinny was selected as the Best of KOREA MAT 2021 jointly hosted by AVING News and China’s industrial media HC360. CEO Cheon Young-seok | Photo by AVING News

Q1. What made you focus on autonomous logistics robots?

There are various fields in whichautonomous robots can be used, such as security, logistics, and cleaning. Amongthem, I thought hard where to use our autonomous driving technology. And, weentered the logistics market, which was the largest. Even when looking at thepotential for future growth, I thought this was where we could best utilize theautonomous robots.

Q2. The product names NarGo and TarGo seem to be intuitive and unique. Who and how did you decide the product name?

Our product names are NarGo, TarGo, andMoiGo, and they come from our employees. Our employees agreed on NarGo firstbecause they are the robots used in logistics, and I got the idea to name thetracking robot from there. I named it TarGo. My employees liked the name verymuch, so I decided on that name.

Q3. Introduction of flagship products presented at this exhibition

Twinny's flagship products presented atthis exhibition are the autonomous driving robot NarGo and the object-trackingrobot TarGo series.

The NarGo Series has the autonomous drivingfeature with only the sensor from the robot itself without stepping on a QRcode on the floor or attaching a reflector to the ceiling in a wide and complexenvironment.

In general, in places like factories, ifyou use markers, they can move accurately, but it is also inconvenient in otherways. This is especially true in places where environmental changes arefrequent. NarGo can be used in places where there are no infrastructure, and wenamed the robots based on the maximum load weight, so there are NarGo 60, NarGo100, and NarGo 500. Above all, NarGo 500 is an autonomous robot with a specialfunction that can lift and transport pallets by itself.

TarGo is an object-tracking robot thatfollow the objects by identifying the characteristics of the objects evenwithout a separate device. At this exhibition, Twinny showcased TarGo 100 thatcan lift up to 100kg.

Twinny booth at KOREA PACK Special & ICPI WEEK 2021 | Photo by AVING News

Q4. It seems that the autonomous robot should be able to control both hardware and software to maximize efficiency. So, I think this is why TARP and TARAS are receiving more attention. Can you elaborate more on this?

The advantage of Twinny robots is that theyhave excellent autonomous driving software technology. Not only that, it isalso directly producing robot hardware by using software. It also received goodresponse by creating the TARAS app that controls the robot and providesservices.

It is difficult to customize imported robotproducts. But, Twinny’s robots can be customized to meet the diverse needs ofcustomers by combining the autonomous driving software to various hardware andTARAS.

Q5. What is the (major) target market for Twinny’s autonomous robots?

This year's main target areas arehospitals, logistics centers, factories, and package delivery services. Therehave been many issues these days due to the package delivery services, andTwinny has been making package transport robots to solve the delivery problemsince the beginning of last year. We are also planning to showcase theautonomous robots that can deliver the packages from the entrance of theapartment complex to the homes in Sejong-si in the second half of this year.

Q6. How far do you think the Korean autonomous robot technology has come compared to robots from other parts of the world?

In the US, logistics robots arecommercially available. Korean companies have entered this market late, but interms of autonomous driving technology, it does not fall behind compared to theUS.

Especially, Twinny's technology boastsoutstanding technological prowess that does not lag behind any other company inthe US. We have the technology in autonomous driving in the wide and complicatedenvironment, so we are expecting to stand higher in the global market.

TarGo and NarGo exhibited in Twinny booth | Photo by AVING News

Q7. It seems that is an area that desperately needs government support. What kind of support and measures do you think can support the Korean robot market better?

Autonomous robots are still unfamiliar tothe general public. There are people who know about it, but since most of themhave not used it, they don’t know how to maximize the efficiency. Therefore, itis also a very difficult field to attract potential consumers.

If the government provides an opportunityto first use and demonstrate in the initial market, the robot market in Koreacan be further expanded. Based on this, I believe that autonomous robot companiescan grow rapidly, and also become competitive in the global market.

Q8. What are Twinny's plans for overseas expansion?

We introduced the robot for the first timelast year, and unfortunately, it fits perfectly with the COVID-19 pandemic. So,until two years ago, we stopped making the effort to enter the overseas market.We have started communicating with overseas buyers again this year, and expectto have the first exports soon. Currently, the countries we are expecting toexport to are Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

Q9. Recently, autonomous robots that can do various tasks are being released. Does Twinny have any plans to expand into robotics other than logistics?

Twinny can provide various services basedon various autonomous driving technologies. First of all, by upgrading thetransport features, we are going to make robots that can carry people.

Further, we are going to apply othermethods to logistics to add additional features like four-wheel drive, drones,and flying to expand the market. In the long run, we also plan to incorporateTwinny's autonomous driving technology into cars.

Cheon Young-seok, CEO of Twinny | Photo by AVING News

Q10. What are your plans for the future?

Twinny is a very small company that istrying to evolve from a startup with the autonomous robot technology. We arevery proud of our technology. Also, I think our core competencies are what weshould focus on right now.

Next, we are planning to focus on autonomousdriving technology and grow by creating a cooperative ecosystem with manypartner companies for commercialization. Through this, if Twinny's autonomousrobot software technology is widely used in the global market, it will providean opportunity to approach the world's leading autonomous robot company onestep closer.

Before the opening of KOREA PACK 2021, anonline exhibition hall service where visitors can see exhibitors’ products wasunveiled on May 17 (Mon). This online exhibition hall was designed for overseasbuyers who cannot enter Korea due to COVID pandemic and Korean SMEs havingdifficulty entering overseas. The organizer is supporting export channels byholding the first online export consultation at the KINTEX from May 25 to 28for Korean exhibitors and overseas buyers that have been matched.

Hosted by Kyongyon Exhibition Co., KoreaPackaging Machinery Association, KIP, and PackNet, the items exhibited at KOREAPACK Special and ICPI WEEK 2021 are as follows. △Packaging machine △Packagingmaterial △Packaging label/digital printing △Packaging robot△Pharmaceutical/cosmetic related machinery △Food related machinery △Packagedesign △Packaging plant engineering system

→ Go to 2021 KOREA PACK Special & ICPI WEEK news special page

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