Didden Robotics, a Korean physical AI startup, said Thursday it participated in Amazon's invitation-only conference "MARS 2026" and demonstrated its quadruped industrial robot "Didden Spider."
Didden Robotics is a physical AI company co-founded in March 2024 by four researchers from KAIST's Humanoid Robot Research Center in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The company develops all hardware components in-house, including actuators, electrical systems and mechanical parts, as well as software spanning locomotion control, vision AI and simulation-based learning. It is currently collaborating with major Korean shipbuilders and has field references from performing welding operations in actual ship production processes.
MARS stands for Machine Learning, Automation, Robotics and Space. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has hosted the invitation-only technology event since 2016. Approximately 200 scientists, founders and industry leaders attend, with participation limited to invitees rather than open registration.
This year's event, held in the United States last month, extended invitations to only 20 teams, including global robotics companies and university research labs. Didden Robotics was the only Korean startup invited. A KAIST research team was also invited in the university category.
Didden Robotics showcased the Didden Spider alongside its bipedal industrial platform "Didden Walker." The centerpiece of the demonstration was the robot's ability to walk across steel structures while traversing work holes.
The Didden Spider uses electropermanent magnet (EPM) technology to move freely across steel surfaces including floors, walls and ceilings. The robot drew particular attention from attendees by maintaining stable locomotion on irregular structures replicating real shipyard environments cluttered with welding marks, longitudinal frames and piping.
"With global robotics and AI leaders including Jeff Bezos watching our robot demonstration in person, there was not a single error," Didden Robotics CEO Kim Jun-ha said. "Building on the interest we received at MARS 2026, we will explore collaborations with global companies and focus even more on developing robots for real industrial applications, including the Spider and humanoids."