Samsung may enable the AI vision of your future humanoid robot

The age of humanoid robots is almost upon us. At least, that's what some of the major up-and-coming humanoid robot brands, such as Tesla, aim for. Exactly when you will be able to buy a humanoid robot remains to be seen, but the breakthrough might happen within the next few years. Major component manufacturers see the segment as a new revenue growth stream, and Samsung is among them.

According to a new report from Korea, the nation's two biggest tech giants, LG Innotek and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, are getting more serious about becoming key suppliers for the emerging humanoid robot market, particularly as camera module manufacturers. Your future humanoid robot could have Samsung-made “eyes.”

LG Innotek appears to be one step ahead of Samsung in this regard. LG is already negotiating with the US-based humanoid robotic company Figure AI, the latter of which aims to start mass-producing its robots early next year. LG is also in talks with Boston Dynamics, Unitree, Apptronik, and Agility Robotics.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electro-Mechanics is reportedly “engaging with multiple humanoid robotics firms” and is trying to set a foothold in the segment.

Although Samsung hasn't supplied any camera modules for robotic firms yet, it has the expertise and mass-production capabilities to become a key supplier.

Samsung is already an established supplier of smartphone and automotive camera modules. As such, Samsung Electro-Mechanics believes its camera modules will grow in popularity as the humanoid robot market reaches mass production stages.

Anonymous industry watchers cited by The Korea Herald said the robotics sector “presents a rare growth opportunity,” especially now that the “smartphone camera module market [is] reaching saturation.”

Humanoid robots open up new opportunities for revenue growth for key component suppliers, which Samsung has the potential to become. However, the competition is already fierce, and those who will establish themselves as key suppliers in these early stages will have a significant long-term advantage.

So, although Samsung might not manufacture its own humanoid robot anytime soon, the company and its camera expertise could play a key role in helping robots from other brands “see” and interact with their environment.