Hyundai Glovis deploys autonomous drones for inventory management at Georgia

An autonomous drone conducts inventory management at the Consolidation Center inside HMGMA Courtesy of Hyundai Glovis — An autonomous drone conducts inventory management at the Consolidation Center inside HMGMA. Courtesy of Hyundai Glovis

SEOUL, July 07 (AJP) - Hyundai Glovis said Monday it has introduced two autonomous drones at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) Consolidation Center in Ellabell, Georgia.

The drones are being used to perform inventory inspections on semi-knockdown automotive parts, cutting average inspection times by more than 90 percent. Inspection cycles have been reduced from 300 minutes to just 30 minutes.

Unlike conventional drones that rely on GPS, the Glovis system operates without external positioning systems. It uses a combination of Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO), Inertial Measurement Units (IMU), fisheye and stereo cameras, and depth sensors to navigate complex indoor environments.

Once assigned a task by HMGMA’s in-house Global Consolidation Center support System (GCS), each drone flies autonomously through the facility, scans storage bins, sends data to a base station, and transmits analysis results back to the system without human intervention.

The vision-based navigation also allows drones to identify items stored in hard-to-reach areas, including blind spots and shelves over 3.5 meters high. With real-time, on-demand verification and automated battery charging and replacement, the system is designed to reduce physical strain on workers and improve operational efficiency.

Vehicle body panels produced at HMGMA’s press shop are loaded onto pallets and transported by an Automated Guided Vehicle AGV Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group — Vehicle body panels produced at HMGMA’s press shop are loaded onto pallets and transported by an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV). Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group

According to Hyundai Glovis, each drone uses a fisheye camera to extract visual "feature points" and stereo imaging to measure height. An onboard accelerometer and gyroscope track positioning with precision throughout each flight.

The company plans to add two more drones to the site and expand the system to other logistics hubs worldwide.

The drone integration is part of HMGMA's wider effort to build out its Software Defined Factory (SDF) model. Designed to maximize automation, the plant combines AI, robotics, and high-speed data infrastructure to handle every phase of production, from stamping to final inspection.

Instead of traditional conveyor systems, the factory relies on more than 500 Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), 161 Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), and 50 robotic parking units. These systems are coordinated with drone-collected data to ensure just-in-time delivery of parts and uninterrupted workflow.

The plant also features digital twin simulations, 6,800-ton servo presses, robotic welding guided by machine vision, and AI-based quality control, including robot inspectors such as Boston Dynamics' Spot.

A Hyundai Glovis official said, "We will continue to secure advanced technologies to proactively respond to the rapidly evolving logistics industry."

Lim Jaeho ajupresswogh@ajupress.com

Hyundai Glovis deploys autonomous drones for inventory management at Georgia

Related