Founded in 1968, South Korean steel manufacturer POSCO supplies high quality steel products to more than 70 countries. In fact, POSCO’s Gwangyang Steelworks facility is the largest integrated steel plant in the world, generating nearly 23 million tons of steel each year alone.

Over the last decade, POSCO has actively deployed IoT technologies—including Boston Dynamic’s autonomous SpotⓇ robot—to improve operations, protect workers, and ensure the quality of its steel products. In recognition of POSCO’s efforts, the World Economic Forum named the company a “lighthouse factory” in 2019, an honor shared by only six other steel factories worldwide.

A panoramic view of POSCO's Gwangyang Steelworks facility and surrounding area

Keeping Operations Up and Running

POSCO first acquired Spot for research and development purposes in 2021. After seeing how well the robot could maneuver inside a steel plant, the company began utilizing Spot for blast furnace inspections in 2023.

The furnace at the facility is the most crucial part of the steelmaking process. Reaching internal temperatures above 1200°C (2,192°F), the furnace produces the molten iron required to produce steel. Any disruption to its operation impacts the entire manufacturing process, including production of hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and plate steel products.

“If the blast furnace is not operating normally, it cannot supply molten iron to downstream processes like steelmaking and rolling, which significantly disrupts the production of the final product,” said Senior Researcher Kim Ki-hwan.

“The main hazards are radiant heat and gas from the furnace, but the robot spends less time in one place than a human and moves back and forth to minimize the risk of overheating. Since the Spot robot performs manual tasks in harsh environments on behalf of our employees, their satisfaction has increased, and they can work in safer conditions.”

Senior Researcher Kim Ki-hwan

Hazardous Inspections

Before Spot’s arrival, employees inspected areas around the blast furnace multiple times a day. Either by sight or using a handheld thermal camera, inspectors checked for gas leaks, cracks, or water leaks in the cooling system. This required wearing bulky safety gear, including fire-resistant clothing, goggles, gloves, helmets, and gas detectors. Spot needs no special protective equipment and employees were happy to let the robot take over inspections while they tended to safer duties.

“The main hazards are radiant heat and gas from the furnace, but the robot spends less time in one place than a human and moves back and forth to minimize the risk of overheating,” said Ki-hwan. “Since the Spot robot performs manual tasks in harsh environments on behalf of our employees, their satisfaction has increased, and they can work in safer conditions.”

A red hot block of metal rolls down a conveyor in a steelworks factory.

The Benefits of Mobility

Although fixed thermal cameras were installed within the steelworks, Ki-hwan said it was impractical to install fixed sensors everywhere they were needed, especially around the 44 tuyeres that blow heated air into the blast furnace. Spot can now complete the majority of inspections, while fixed sensors continue to monitor key equipment around the clock.

“The robot allows for flexible monitoring beyond the limited range of fixed sensors,” said Ki-hwan. “Additionally, Spot is capable of meticulously and accurately inspecting areas that might be missed during manual inspections, playing a crucial role in preventing issues like blast furnace overheating and gas leaks that could affect the entire steel production process.”

Managing Spot with Orbit

Effectively applying Spot to blast furnace operations required close collaboration between POSCO’s research team and maintenance staff that helped identify which equipment to inspect and at what intervals. POSCO’s research team recorded Autowalk missions with Spot, designed a wireless network suitable for on-site conditions, and established a system for real-time remote monitoring and data management using Boston Dynamic’s fleet management software, Orbit.

Currently, Spot performs two Autowalk missions around the exterior of the blast furnace multiple times a day, completing approximately 40 actions per mission using a thermal camera. As it completes its missions, the robot wirelessly transmits data to Orbit, which the POSCO team can monitor in real time.

An operator in PPE sets up an autonomous mission, using the tablet controller to control Spot

Orbit provides a user-friendly dashboard that details the robots’ missions and inspection results. POSCO can remotely schedule tasks and analyze data for trends. Orbit also stores historical data, enabling detailed comparisons over time that will improve decision-making.

“Our team uses Orbit to control the robots, said Ki-hwan. “We also use it for scheduling missions, reviewing facility inspection data, and adjusting map parameters. We are currently analyzing the data directly in Orbit, but we plan to link it to POSCO’s MES database in the future.”

Future Expansion on the Horizon

Ki-hwan says POSCO has plans to expand inspection operations by programming additional inspection points into the robot.

“Many areas still require regular inspections by workers, despite the harsh environment, and we aim to gradually replace these with Spot,” said Ki-hwan.