CJ Logistics partners with RLWRLD to develop logistics-focused physical AI

CJ Logistics has teamed up with physical AI company RLWRLD to develop physical AI technology tailored to the logistics industry, combining both companies' technical capabilities and infrastructure to accelerate innovation at logistics sites.

CJ Logistics announced Monday it had signed an MOU with RLWRLD for strategic collaboration on logistics-focused physical AI. The signing ceremony was held Friday at RLWRLD's headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and was attended by CJ Logistics Future Growth Promotion Division Head Lee Jong-hun, TES Logistics Technology Research Institute Director Kim Jeong-hee, Strategy Planning Office Head Yoon Dong-wook, RLWRLD Chief Executive Ryu Jung-hee, business representative Lee Gang-wook and Chief Strategy Officer Ahn Ji-yun.

The agreement follows an MOU the two companies signed in November last year, when CJ Logistics also took an equity stake in RLWRLD to lay the groundwork for strategic cooperation. With the new pact, the companies plan to move beyond the investment phase and accelerate development of physical AI technology deployable at actual logistics sites, with the ultimate goal of commercializing logistics-focused physical AI-based services.

The two companies will first jointly develop a robot foundation model, or RFM — an AI model that enables robots to integrate and understand visual, language, voice and sensor data, recognize their surroundings, and make judgments and take action accordingly.

CJ Logistics will design and verify automation requirements and performance standards based on operational data and site environments accumulated across its parcel delivery, fulfillment and cold-chain logistics businesses. RLWRLD will lead development of the RFM and physical AI software.

The partners will also conduct technology pilots at actual logistics sites. Planned demonstrations include parcel-sorting tasks — such as aligning shipping labels face-up — with the companies collecting and training on fine motor movement data to advance the physical AI model's ability to handle a wider range of logistics operations.

CJ Logistics has been stepping up investment to build its physical AI capabilities. The company recently deployed two dual-arm humanoid robots at the CJ Olive Young logistics center in Yangji, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, putting them to work inserting cushioning materials. The company said the deployment marks a stage where humanoid robots have moved beyond mere demonstrations to performing real roles at logistics sites.

CJ Logistics plans to expand the robots' scope to cover picking, sorting and inspection processes, and ultimately develop a general-purpose logistics humanoid capable of perceiving and responding to its surroundings — as a person would — to carry out multiple logistics tasks in consecutive sequence.

"Our logistics infrastructure, one of the largest in the country, and the on-site data covering a wide variety of goods provide the ideal environment for AI training and advancement," said Lee Jong-hun, head of CJ Logistics' Future Growth Promotion Division. "We will work with RLWRLD to develop and refine physical AI technology optimized for logistics operations and make it a driver of future growth."