FIX 2026 Innovation Awards: 9 Best Innovation Technology Winners in Robotics, AI, and Mobility
Ubergizmo
FIX 2026 recognized nine companies for innovations in humanoid robotics, autonomous vehicles, industrial AI, cybersecurity, and data center cooling.
At FIX 2026 in Daegu, South Korea, nine companies presented their technologies at a press conference highlighting the winners of the Best Innovation Technology Awards, FIX 2026’s highest distinction.
A panel of 26 judges selected the nine winners from 209 applicants, representing three sectors: future mobility, robotics, and AI/ICT. Another 22 companies received Innovation Awards, bringing the total to 31 winners, including six companies from the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. For last year’s winners, please check my article here.
Among the most interesting technologies were Tesollo’s robotic hand, designed to reproduce human dexterity, and AeiROBOT’s latest bipedal humanoid robot, Alice 5. Both address major technical challenges facing the next generation of humanoid robots.
Robotics: Reproducing Human Dexterity and Movement
Tesollo: Advancing Human-Like Robotic Hands
South Korean robotics company Tesollo, led by CEO Young-jin Kim, received a Best Innovation Technology Award for its DG-5F-M robotic hand, which features five fingers and 20 degrees of freedom for human-like manipulation.
At FIX 2026, Tesollo also showcased the newer DG-5F-S, a compact version weighing just 880 grams, according to the company. Both models aim to address one of the key challenges in humanoid robotics: reproducing the dexterity, gripping strength, and precise finger movements of the human hand.
Using proprietary actuator technology, Tesollo is developing robotic hands that can perform increasingly complex manipulation tasks. The company claims its designs combine dexterity, precision, and compactness, though independent comparisons with competing products are still needed. Its three-finger DG-3F05 won a CES 2025 Innovation Award in Robotics.
AeiROBOT: Alice 5 Moves from Wheels to Legs
AeiROBOT presented ALICE 5, its latest bipedal humanoid robot, representing a significant technological evolution from its earlier wheeled Alice M1 and M2 platforms.
Standing approximately 170 cm tall and weighing 50 kg, Alice 5 features 43 degrees of freedom and uses NVIDIA’s Jetson Thor computing platform.
Its proprietary hybrid actuation system combines quasi-direct-drive actuators in the upper body with linear actuators in the legs. This architecture is designed to balance responsive upper-body manipulation with the strength and stability required for bipedal locomotion.
Compared with wheeled humanoids, a legged robot can navigate stairs, obstacles, and environments designed for people without requiring modifications to the surroundings. Alice 5 also supports interchangeable robotic hands for different tasks.
AeiROBOT is already testing its ALICE robots in industrial environments, including PCB manufacturing (Alice M1) and shipyards (Alice 5) operated by HD Hyundai and Hanwha Ocean. Alice 5 has undergone fire-response demonstrations at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, while planned applications include firefighting, ship cleaning involving hazardous chemicals, and other dangerous shipyard tasks. The company is targeting broader industrial deployment by 2028.
Future Mobility: Smarter Vehicles and Automotive Components
Onepredict: AI-Native Factory
Onepredict is expanding its predictive maintenance expertise into an AI Native Factory solution that integrates manufacturing data and equipment management.
Traditional predictive maintenance systems identify potential failures. Onepredict goes further by linking equipment health data to production operations, helping manufacturers make better maintenance and operational decisions.
Its advantage lies in combining industrial equipment diagnostics with a broader manufacturing AI platform.
SWM: Advancing Autonomous Robotaxis
Through its SVMW.ai autonomous driving technology, SWM is developing urban robotaxi services that operate without fixed routes.
The company has already launched autonomous driving services in Seoul’s Gangnam district. and introduced paid commercial operations with a safety driver onboard.
Its AP-700 autonomous driving platform delivers a claimed 2,000 TOPS of computing performance to process sensor information and AI models.
Unlike fixed-route autonomous shuttles, SWM targets flexible passenger pickup and drop-off services, though widespread Level 4 driverless deployment remains challenging.
Perseus: Software-Defined Vehicles
Perseus received recognition for PEGASUS, its hypervisor technology for software-defined vehicles. Certified to ISO 26262 ASIL-D, Pegasus runs several operating systems, such as the digital cockpit and vehicle control, isolated on a single chip.
As cars become increasingly software-driven, automakers need to consolidate functions previously managed by separate electronic control units.
Pegasus is designed to let multiple software environments operate on shared vehicle hardware while maintaining isolation between functions. This approach could reduce hardware complexity and simplify automotive software development and updates.
HJWave: Better Radar for Autonomous Vehicles
HJWave develops advanced 3D waveguide antennas for automotive radar systems.
Its technology uses a specialized waveguide structure to reduce signal losses and improve radar resolution and detection coverage.
Compared with conventional PCB-based antennas, HJWave reports improvements in signal consistency and a wider detection angle. Better radar performance could help autonomous vehicles more reliably detect pedestrians, obstacles, and surrounding traffic, especially when cameras face poor visibility. It holds Korean and US patents, received a European patent grant decision in June 2026, and signed a supply agreement with an undisclosed global autonomous-driving company.
AI/ICT: Cooling, Cybersecurity, and Autonomous Factories
CENS: Precision Cooling for AI Servers
CENS presented its CENS-D130 precision spray cooling technology, developed to address the growing heat generated by powerful AI servers.
Instead of immersing entire servers in cooling liquid, the system sprays electrically nonconductive fluid directly onto heat-generating components.
AI-based controls adjust cooling delivery according to changing thermal demand.
CENS claims its targeted approach can substantially reduce cooling-fluid requirements compared with full immersion systems, potentially lowering equipment weight, maintenance complexity, and operating costs.
WACE: Letting AI Make Factory Decisions
WACE’s VEXPLOR, a manufacturing AI operating system, aims to move industrial AI beyond dashboards and recommendations.
The software standardizes factory data, supports evidence-based operational decisions, and connects AI-generated instructions to programmable logic controllers (PLCs), which operate industrial equipment.
VEXPLOR stands apart from conventional factory monitoring platforms by connecting AI decision-making directly to machine control.
Its safety layer hands control to AI, one verified level at a time, and blocks unsafe commands.
PotatoNet: Detecting Hidden Cybersecurity Threats
PotatoNet, led by CEO KyoungA Shin, develops OLPEMI, an AI-powered cybersecurity platform that identifies malicious URLs and hidden threats, including those in the deep web. Its technology focuses on discovering malicious websites, phishing infrastructure, and threats that conventional URL databases may not recognize quickly enough.
OLPEMI also protects against web-server attacks and malicious links encountered on mobile devices. Its proactive threat intelligence approach aims to identify dangerous web destinations before users or organizations are compromised.
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